I had the honor of spending Thanksgiving Evening with Kenny’s family at their house in Orange, with his folks, his grandma, cousin and his new wife, sisters, uncles, and lots of good food. 8o) By the time I finally arrived everyone had already eaten and gotten to hear a fun speech about wine and the complexities therein, and sampled a fun $200 bottle of dessert wine (that was quite fantabulous, by the way; a delightfully floral and fragrant bouquet, very little tannins, and a taste that livened up the taste buds, especially when accompanied by something sweet and smooth…), and we were ready to settle in for a night of Balderdash, wine, laughter and silliness…and of course, thanks.
I was late (what else is new?), but this time I had a pretty valid reason. You see, the last year and a half of my life I spent living with an older lady from church, and most of us affectionately called her by her better-known-title, Nonie. Nonie is the Italian word for Grandma, and that’s what she became for me over the last 18 months or so. Well Sunday evening I received a pretty saddening e-mail from our Children’s Director at LFBC telling me that Nonie’s health had taken a drastic turn for the worse—she had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and, after slipping into a morphine-induced coma, was not expected to live through the night. By the next morning she was still hanging on, and Pastor Sam was able to rouse her enough to get a bit of a response from her, although she wasn’t fully cognizant. The medical staff was certain that when the morphine was wearing off she could hear, but she was unable to function enough to converse. By Tuesday Pastor Sam had made me aware of the fact that Nonie was reacting very badly to any attempts to feed her (or do anything else—save medicate), so the plan of action was to keep her comfortable, but stop the intravenous feeding and let her go. On Wednesday I was able to leave for Lindsay after work, and Thursday (Thanksgiving) head to Kaweah Delta and visit with Nonie and say my last good-byes while she was still here. I arrived about 1:35 or so and stayed with her until after 2:10, talking a bit with her, holding her hand, crying through “It Is Well With My Soul†for a few verses, and generally saying good-bye as best I could. I left a note for the family and made my way outside and on my way back to Orange to meet up with the Masciana’s, as the rest of my family was scattered about with their own Thanksgiving plans with their families. I found out today (Friday, as this is when I’m typing this) after a phone conversation with Donna (Nonie’s daughter) that shortly after I left, around 4:00 pm to be more precise, Nonie left this earth to be home with the Lord. I was one of the last few people, save the medical staff, who got to see Nonie alive.
‘Tis another bittersweet time in my life, but at least briefly I got to know a grandmother as I’ve never known any of my real grandma’s, blood or marriage. But God is sovereign, and he allowed me time with a gracious lady to know and be known by, and for that I am very thankful.
With that I bid you all a very blessed night, and many precious years with those you love.