A precious gem

Finally, a moment to sit down and catch up! This week has been crazy, both mentally and emotionally, physically I haven't done a thing :-(

I'm officially done with summer semester. Which is good and bad. It's good because (hopefully) I'll never have to deal with physics ever again or give speeches in that capacity. It's bad because Justin will no longer be a fellow UGA classmate. He graduates tomorrow. I'm so incredibly proud of him, but I'll miss him so much. It's also bad because it means that most of my summer has been spent in the classroom and I don't have alot of time left to play because fall semester starts in two weeks.... ahhh!

So to the point of this post: my great-grandmother, a true gem. If you know me, you know that one of my favorite people in the world is my 103 year old great grandmother. She's precious and funny and strong and wise and I could go on and on. Unfortunately her health is declining.

A little background for those of you who don't know: Ma Bailey, my great-grandmother, has lived with my grandmother for over 70 years. Her husband was killed in a car accident when she was 40 and she was left to raise her 7 kids alone. When my grandparents got married, my grandfather was sent overseas so my grandmother lived with Ma. When Papa got back, they built a house and Ma moved in with them to avoid having to live alone. She practically raised my mom and her sisters, she literally is their second mother. In the last few months, she's fallen several times and it's just become too hard for my grandmother to manage her alone.

On Monday we made the decision to move her to the hospice house in Anderson. She was already with their services, they came daily to bathe her, and we felt this was better than the nursing home (nothing against it, but there is a lower nurse to patient ratio at the Hospice House and we are already familiar with the RNs and Dr). Many people don't know that Hospice is an available alternative to the nursing home. The actually have a resident private pay hall where people can stay long term, just as in a nursing home. So, we didn't move her there because we thought she was dieing or anything like that, just to clarify. She was moved to receive the best care possible due to her age and declining ability to be mobile.

I couldn't bear to post about it on Monday. It breaks my heart to think she'll most likely never go home again. She's at the same place my grandfather went to die just four short months ago. The wounds still seem so fresh and raw. It feels like I'm losing my dearest, one by one. As you may or may not know, my grandfather was one of my most cherished friends in this world. A private gentle man with a heart of gold. Giving him up seems hard enough and I am still struggling with it.

Ma isn't really eating much and hasn't been urinating normally, although today has been a bit better in that department. She refuses to take her pills because it bothers her jaw to swallow (she has ticdelarou). I'm trying not to question things, but I don't know how my grandmother can bear to lose a husband and mother so closely together, how any of us can bear it.

I'm not saying that she's dieing, because only God knows that. But she's becoming less herself and it will be so hard to let her go. She's ready though. She says she's ready to go home, that her body is as worn out as an old shoe, cute little thing. And it's so comforting to know where she's going. She's been ready for almost twenty years now.

Sorry if this jumped around a lot. It makes me emotional just thinking about losing her. Just pray for my sweet Ma and my family. Pray that she doesn't have to suffer. Pray that when it is her time that she dies happy, knowing how loved she is and what an impact she's made on those who love her so dearly. She's changed my life for the better and taught me more than she'll ever know, through both her words and the way she's lived her life.



My precious gem.

~BK

Just wanted to share...

Yesterday Preacher Terry at Cornerstone started a new series on Creation and how to refute evolution. Being a science major (nerd as Justin says!) I loved it. He showed this video which I found AMAZING. If you have the time, (8 minutes), you should watch it. It's sooooooo worth it. Be prepared to get chills, in a good way!

A tribute of thanks

I did my last speech on Friday. The topic was to find someone or something to praise. I chose the birth mother of my precious cousin who was adopted. It was quite emotional for me (although I held it together during the speech!) to think of what our lives would be like without our sweet Emilee.

She is a wonderful child with a heart of gold. Since my grandfather passed away, she checks on my grandmother daily. Not every ten year old would do that. She's smart. She's passionate (especially about her horses!) and she's an amazing big sister. She always greets you with a hug and a smile.

We'll never be able to thank this woman enough. She was not a teen mother, she was a 28 year old adult. She was not broke, she was financially secure with a good job. The only thing she couldn't give was two parents, and so she gave my aunt and uncle the chance to be the parents they so desperately wanted to be. They tried for 12 years, going to numerous fertility specialists, preforming numerous self injections, and numerous disappointments. This woman changed their lives with a precious little girl named Emilee Wyndsor.


Emilee's Birthday ~ a wonderful day!!!!


Five years old. My favorite photo.


Ten years old (current) at a horse show. :-)

So although I'll never be able to actually thank her, I hope she knows.

Several of my classmates gave moving speeches as well. A tribute to a grandfather, one to a friend who died of a drug overdose, and one in particular that I'd like to share.

A guy name Daniel approached my teacher before his speech (she happened to be sitting next to me at the moment) and told her that this was quite emotional, but that he'd do his best.

He started his speech by saying that he'd like to honor his aunt. He described how smart and full of life she was. She met a man named Keith in high school and they fell in love and became engaged. She enrolled in Mercer University in the education program to become a Shakespearian Literature professor. She was on top of the world. Unfortunately her life took a drastic 180. Keith was brutally murdered.

She sank into a deep depression and did not start college. She wallowed in despair for awhile, but she finally decided that she was not going to let this murderer not only take away her finance but her life as well. She enrolled in Mercer once again, but this time in the law program. She became a district attorney in Fulton County where she had a 100% percent conviction rate. She pushed for harsher punishments, less parole, and was known for being ruthless in the courtroom and was given the nickname "Amazing Grace", Grace being Daniel's family name.

After ten years as a DA, she knew it was time to move on. She refused to be a private attorney because her goal was to work for the people. Someone submitted some of her court work to CNN and they hired her. She eventually married a man she dated for 25 years that she met at law school, and had twins this past November.

When I raised my hand at the end of the speech and said "Is your aunt Nancy Grace?" He just nodded his head and said "Yes, she is."

I must admit I was blown away. I never knew her story.

It was a good a day all around.

~BK

My dad always said...

I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached.

*sigh* I've been doing so well keeping up with all of my stuff. I always check when I leave a class or get off the bus to make sure I have everything. I'm a neat freak and I keep things super organized, but I used to have a bad habit of forgetting things or leaving them behind somewhere.

Well today when I went to reach for my physics lab manual to start studying for my final (which is tomorrow!), it was no where to be found. I searched in my car, my room, everywhere! I was tearing my bed apart, taking off the comforter and sheets when Justin walked in for lunch and said "What in the world?" I asked him if he'd moved it, he said no. I kept looking (and crying- all my old labs are in there and I just KNEW I'd brought it back to Athens). I finally broke down and called mama. She went home and there it was under Justin's graduation invitations. I could of swore I'd put it back in backpack...

Well my precious mother met me halfway and we had lunch at Subway. I now have the manual and just need to get stared with the studying...

~BK

Long time, no post.

This is partly due to major log in technical difficulties! Thankfully, they were resolved and I can now get back to my not all that interesting posts, lol :-)

School is wrapping up. Only eleven days left. 1 lab final, 1 physics test, 1 speech, and a speech and physics final. Ahhhh!

Justin graduates two weeks from Saturday which is exciting and sad all at once. I've never been at UGA without him, so next year will certainly be strange!

He'll be looking for a job soon and that market is rough at the moment. (Know any Landscape Architects in the ATL area?!?)

I had several things to share on the days that I couldn't log in and now I can't remember. :-( Oh well!

Hope you're enjoying your summer!

~BK

Happy 4th of July!

I realized today just how much I love the 4th of July. It always means no school, family and friends, the lake, grilling out, fireworks, and just good memories all around. I was able to sleep in until 10 AM, one of the first times since getting back from Australia. I was shocked when I woke up so late, but it felt so nice. By 12:30, the tube was pumped up and the seadoo and boat were ready to go. We had a great day tubing, swimming, and basking in the sun.

We had a good supper and then went to see an awesome firework show at my cousin's. The Hartwell Dam didn't have anything on these fireworks!

Hope you had an equally amazing 4th!

~BK

P.S. You know those photos are just TOO funny ;-)

Pre-4th/Birthday Preperations

I have officially completed midterms and two speeches, meaning I'm halfway through this semester and I couldn't be much happier about that!

Tomorrow after Justin gets off at 5, we're heading home to get ready for the 4th. My aunt and uncle and two cousins always come over to join in the festivities on the lake. It'll be the first time we've put in the boat and seadoo this year, the latest ever! I'm hoping Jamie and my other cousin will come as well, the more the merrier when it comes to lake! We're grilling out and then planning to go see some fireworks. I can't wait! Oh and I'm also planning to make a blackberry cobbler recipe that was in the July issue of Southern Living. It looks so good!

My dad's birthday is Saturday which means another celebration! He's going to be the big 5-0 but refuses any over the hill stuff. I need to get on getting him a birthday gift, it's just always so difficult! My mom bought him a new grill just in time for the 4th but "actually for his birthday" which means she has nothing to worry about ;-)

Justin is having dinner with a friend tonight, so I think I'm going to clean and then go rent myself a movie. I already have some ice cream in the freezer!

~BK