Alice Eileen Alexander

Last Monday morning (April 10th) I was sitting as my desk when my cell phone rang. It was my aunt on the phone who asked if I had heard news from Ohio yet and then asked if I was sitting down. I've always known that my grandmother would die one day, but I certainly wasn't expecting it that morning. My parents happened to be flying down to Houston at the same time so my sister and I went to the airport to meet them and give them the news. What a week it's been since then. My family and I spent several days in Ohio for the funeral and going through all of Grammie's things. It was an exhausting and terribly painful week for all of us. She is really the only grandmother I've known and we were pretty tight, two peas in a pod. She was my favorite and I do believe that I was hers. Man, I'll miss her loving me! She was 92 years young. I know that sounds corny to say, but it's true. She was so full of life that I still can't quite accept her being gone. I loved her for so many reasons, but I'll start to cry if I think of all those just right now. Even through all the sorrow (by the way, I think this is one of the first times in my life where sorrow seems like the best word to describe what's going on in my heart) God has been abundantly sweet giving lots of gifts along the way. I had a precious time with my family this past week, reliving old memories and enjoying small-town life for a few days. My brother and sister and I had the best time together on our trip back to Texas. I told my sister it was just like when we were little, and she said "Yeah, except Andy was nice." :) And I've figured out one of the reasons God values beauty. Beauty seems trivial at times, but while my heart has been sad I've found little bits of healing and dare I say it, cheer, in the gerber daisies and Easter lilly now sitting on my desk. God, thanks for that and especially for all those who have loved me this week - I am very blessed.