Remembering Vi....

Last October I found out that a very very special and important person in my life passed away, Vi. Please know that she lived a long life filled with grand adventures and memories made with family and dear friends...this is my farewell to her.

When I was a very young girl my Gramps who was a widower was set upon a blind date with Vi, a Nurse who worked with my Great Aunt. I have always been off the charts with my sensitivity and she recgonized this. When I was about 10 she told me her role in my life was to not replace my Grandmother however to be a special friend almost like a Grandmother. I would go to Gramps house which she shared with him. It wasn't until much later til I realized in my world Grandparents were married and usually did not live together. She would also make a special effort to spend time with me. I am the Sister that goes with the flow and needs to be gently nudged if I need something. She also came to more school plays than I can imagine as well as car washes, etc.
When I was in college something shifted. Vi moved to Florida and while Gramps would visit her in the winter, it was safe to say their relationship had changed to dear friends and companions. I would see Vi onced in awhile around town or if she was visiting but it was definitely different. A new chapter had opened.
Flash forward several years. Vi sold her little house in Florida and moved to Ohio to be closer to her 2 daughters. As an adult I helped my Dad to care for my Gramps as he aged. Close to the end stages of his life, he had surgery. I was visiting him in the hospital when the phone rang. It was Vi. It had been a very long time since I had spoken to her and I thought she was another family friend. Vi, well she thought I was my Aunt. We chatted for awhile. It was the last time we ever spoke.
Last October I was at my Cousins wedding when my Sister mentioned something about Vi's passing. I had no idea at all and honestly it shook me to the core. Of course at that very moment the DJ decided to play "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" a song I listened to and helped me a lot with my healing from my Gramps passing. All of a sudden out of nowhere the tears started to flow. My Beau as you know is one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life. He brought me outside, put his suit jacket over my shoulders and told me "I know she was special to you" yes she was and there will always be a piece of my heart for Vi- just as there is for all of my Granparents..

xoxo Carolyn