Granny Pearl Ireland
On January 30, 2004, our cousin, Jim (Mike) Meetze, shared in love some of his thoughts about Grandmother Pearl Ireland.
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It has been ten years since my grandmother died? She raised me until age 6 when my Mom married my step-dad...
I think it was a Saturday, I was out of food as usual ... a by-product of my Friday nights downtown. I was starving. As I rambled through the cabinets trying to piece together something that might pass for a traditional American meal ... southern style ... I was 1 out. Few choices could be found.
The reality of the situation engulfed me. I opened a can of green peas, can of carrots, and can of onions and squash. It was not a bad vegetarian plate, but no bread ... and I am a bread man. I placed each on the stove, adjusted the burners as needed and sat on the sofa with a cup of hot joe ... staring at a blank TV.
As the sounds and smells off the stove surfaced in the kitchen air, I realized I would sell everything I have, would ever have, for one of my grandmother's dinners and it did not have to be a Sunday dinner --- which looked more like a five star restaurant menu ...
Item: I cried and cried and cried and ... for six hours I cried.
Well, you get the picture ... 10+ years and I still miss her.
My stomach reminded me I had not eaten the freshly picked can food items ... so I gathered myself, sat on the kitchen stool and slowly rejoined today, still thinking about the past and wondering what a beautiful thing it had been.
Loss ... it is your path ... spend what time you need to love again ... it will be worth the trip.
See you at the next sunrise ... Jim
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The hurt, loneliness, and loss we feel when a loved one has passed away is a tremendous testimony to the relationship we had with them. The ones we love live on in our hearts and memories, and will always be a part of who and what we are. We are blessed to have had them in our lives.
