Nana loved lighthouses. Whenever I spot one of these towering guiding lights along the shoreline or coast, on an ornament, sweatshirt, or trinket, my mind instinctively goes to her. For me, it’s easy to see why these pieces of architecture were special to her. One of my favorite places in this country revolves around a lighthouse known as The Portland Headlight.
As we were preparing for our trip to Maine a couple of weeks ago, I thought about the upcoming chance to spend time at The Portland Headlight. Of course, we were traveling to spend time with Nana before she made the journey to Heaven, and my mind jumped to her admiration for the structural beauties. In that moment I realized that her love for lighthouses was quite fitting.
Consider the definition of a lighthouse for a moment. A lighthouse is a tall structure topped by a powerful light used as a beacon or signal to aid marine navigation. While most lighthouses have their own unique style, they all share the same purpose.
You see, in many ways Nana was a different kind of lighthouse. No, she did not direct boats in the ocean, but her light was always shining bright. Nana spent countless hours volunteering in the church and community, “grand poobahing,” singing in the church choir, teaching and encouraging her children & grandchildren, and opening her heart to so many people. Over the years, she became a beacon for others around her.
To those whose life she touched, Nana will continue to be a powerful light shining down from Heaven. Those who are blessed enough to call her a friend or family, such as myself, will tend to the lighthouse. Whether we continue on with her good deeds, carry some of her traits, or honor her in some other way, she will be there. We will not let her memory or the goodness and light she shone around her fade.
On my way to school, work, and other various destinations in my life, I used to listen to the radio icon Paul Harvey. His Rest of the Story program always held interesting stories that gave you a bigger insight into someone or something that you already knew. Clearly, his "and now you know... the rest of the story..." was the perfect tag line to every radio episode.
As I posted my final blog of 2009, and took a blogger's vacation, I neglected to give you the rest of the story regarding my leave of blog-o-sphere absence. Of course, it was easy to assume that Christmas had hijacked my brain and body so I was unable to post a tidbit of reading material. While that is true in a sense, there is still more to my blog vacation story. I'd like to share a piece of it with you today.
The Wednesday evening before my last blog post, my husband received a phone call from his dad. C was told that his grandmother, lovingly referred to as Nana, was not doing well and would be going off of dialysis after the holidays. We had planned to visit her, in our other home state of Maine, over Spring Break in April. The news not own threw a monkey wrench into our plans, but left us feeling a strong sense of sadness. Nana suffers from Alzheimer’s, diabetes, & kidney failure (among other health issues) and we were hoping to spend some time with her before she left us to spend a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow with God.
After talking to my husband, I told him that we were going to have a chance to say goodbye to his adoring grandmother. Our son, O, was almost on Christmas break and I was certain that C's work would allow him to take his vacation time on short notice, due to the situation. As Christmas was quickly approaching, I finished up all of the projects and preparations for the big day, while planning out our packing list. It was a busy week trying to get ready for the blessed holiday and a long road trip to Maine, but I knew that I would never regret the hectic days. The day after Christmas, we rolled out of our driveway and headed to spend some time with our family & friends on the East coast.
Two days on the road with two young boys is never an easy task, but it was so worth it. When we rolled into my father-in-law's driveway that Sunday night, we shared a small Christmas celebration before heading to bed. Our week would be busy and we knew it would go by much too quickly, so plenty of rest was in order. As it was a whirlwind, I feel as though we were in fast forward nearly the entire time. Gratefully, we were able to visit with most of our friends & family at least once, visit our favorite place in Maine (even if it was unbearably cold), and eat at a few of our favorite Maine food locations. Most importantly, we were able to spend a couple of hours with Nana.
When we visited, Nana was having a good day. She knew who we were and although she could not remember when the boys were born, or how far apart they were, she understood that O & M were our children. I believe we were given a gift that day, as she has had much harder days in most recent weeks. Nana said a few little things that we will carry with us, and we were able to let her know that she means so much to us. It seemed as though the time went by all too quickly, but as though we were in slow motion at the same time. Leaving her room was more difficult than I think my husband or I had imagined. Before we left, she said the words, "I hope to see you again..." and we told her that she would.
With all my heart, I know those words to be the truth. Nana is a woman of strong Christian faith, and we know we will see her again in Heaven. When it is time, she will be welcomed into the loving arms of God, just as she has often opened her arms to her many sons, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, other family members, & friends. We have been so very blessed to have been a part of her life.
