Oh, to have a picture to post of "Grandma" Rose - Marjorie Wells Rose, my pseudo-grannie. Her face looked like what every grandma should be - all smiles & humor & snappy spirit.
Our family lived snug along side two of her children & their families. Our grandparents were long gone, so I grew up always considering her & Pop-pop my own. Pretty great grandparents to have!
Of all the lessons I learned from Grandma, the most lasting is the one learned at the every end of her life.
One of her daughters was going to move into the little house Grandma & Pop-pop lived in after Aunt Tryn & her brood moved into the original Rose house on Alden Road. It was a cozy, snug house on a nice piece of property, plenty of room for gardens & even a small pond.
It made sense for her daughter to start making some renovations while Grandma was still alive. But soon after, Grandma's health declined.
It may be that I'm the only one, but it always made sense to me that Grandma's decline was connected to the changes in the house. It was no longer the home she lived in with her beloved Donald.
Was reminded of that recently as another friend's longtime home is seeing major changes & she's also noticeably declining in health.
Identity & place - unexpectedly strong forces with all of us, but particularly with the aging & elderly, particularly when it involves their hearth & home. It made a lot of sense for Grandma's daughter to move forward, to not wait. Ditto with my friend's family. Were the changes in health related to changes in the home environment or simply coincidental?
Worth a ponder....
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