Hiatus Over

As many of you already know, my Gram passed away last Saturday, which explains my blogging hiatus. I've honestly been afraid to write this post, because for one- I feel like I'm not the best at conveying my feelings through writing (which is where my sister comes in), and two, I almost thought that writing about it would finally make it feel real. I'm sure all of you have lost a loved one, so I don't need to explain how hard it is, but this was my hardest goodbye yet. So instead of taking this in a sad direction, I would like to remember my Gram in the best light possible, for all of the ways she made me a better person.

She taught me many life skills, including how to sew, how to make a bean bag, and how to make a BOMB cucumber sandwich. I get a lot of my best qualities from her, like my love and affinity for shopping, my love of dogs, my excellence at being a ham in front of the camera. She had a great sense of humor and was ALWAYS making me laugh, which I hope I am emulating in this blog (but who knows, I probably just think I'm funny). And then there's just the little quirks of hers that I'll always remember, because they've been passed onto me; she refused to drink a cold beverage unless it had an equal ratio of ice to liquid, she always made sure her hair was beautifully styled (she was putting curlers in her hair even in her eighties, and made regular trips to the beauty salon at the nursing home), and seafood was quite possibly her favorite food group.

I think what I'll remember most though (and a warning, this is where it gets sappy), is how much she loved Harrison. I will never forget what she said to me when I told her I was pregnant- "You know Darcy, there's a thing called birth control". That was classic Gram right there.

Right after she said that, actually

She said from the beginning how much she wanted me to have a little boy, and that's exactly what she got. Harrison brought her so much joy in her last months, and for that, I don't think I can even express how lucky I feel that I was able to give her that. Her only goal during Bingo games was to win a toy for Harrison, and now he has a whole collection of stuffed animals that I'll be able to tell him, when he gets a little older, were from his great-Gram. I'll never be able to truly explain to him how much she loved him, and he'll never remember her, but even so, it means the world to me that her little Harrison was what kept her going for those last 6 months.

But enough of that, because I'm getting too emotional, and I only have so much time to write this post before the babe wakes up. Just wanted to attempt to do Gram's life a little justice, because it was a great one, and we will all miss her more than words can say.

As per usual, I have to write a little about Harrison's status. While we were in Pennsylvania for Gram's funeral, Harrison got to go swimming for the first time!

I flick you off, cameraman. 

He loved it, and got so tired out that he took a rare 2 hour nap, which I loved.

We got back from PA late Saturday night, and when he woke up for his nighttime feeding, barely able to breathe without sounding like Quasimodo, I knew he had a bad cold. His first one though, which is pretty good considering he's almost 7 months old. I wanted to cry for him. His nose was constantly running all day Sunday, and he was literally rubbing his snot ALL over his face, like in his eyes and everything. To top things off, I was trying to cut his nails this morning, and cut his thumbnail too short, so he was bleeding all over (the second time I've done this THIS WEEK. Worst Mommy award goes to me).

This post is getting a little bit on the long side, so to wrap it up, I just want to say how grateful I am for all of the support I've had from family and friends during this hard time. I was lucky enough to be with two of my girlfriends when I heard the news, and really, is there anything better than your girlfriends to cheer you up?