Before it was "en vogue"

 "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children...".

(Proverbs 13:22 a)

In my mind, Ellie and Pauline Nesmith left a great inheritance to my siblings, my cousins and me (there are 18 of us).  Faith, hope, love (for God and our fellowman) courage, an appreciation of pretty things (especially flowers) and the right way to live - and die.

Iva Pauline Mercer Nesmith was always looking for ways to improve herself and her surroundings. She had a beautiful yard, in later life wore beautiful clothes and was really smart.  Sometimes we have said that she was truly a person who was ahead of her time.

Which makes it interesting to me that on this day May 20, 1971 that at least 8 years before Community Hospice of Northeast Florida was established...Grandma died at home.

As I was thinking about this date and its significance, I asked my mother and sisters what they remembered about it.

A year before my grandma had been very ill and doctors had removed her spleen. She was diagnosed with something called "Idiopathic Purpura".  In addition to that, she had several other ailments including diabetes which had affected her health for many many years.

My mother remembers that year as a very special time.  On January 1, 1971,  our family gathered to celebrate my grandparents 50th anniversary.  It was a lovely event.

However, grandma's health began to deteriorate more in early April. A lovely trip with Aunt Carolyn to visit Aunt Beth in Minneapolis was cut short and she was hospitalized soon after arriving back in Jacksonville.   

Within a few days, my mother, Aunt Carolyn and Granddaddy were meeting with Grandma's endocrinologist who was also her personal physician.  The three other aunts did not live in Jacksonville at that time.

Aunt Carolyn remembers that Dr. Gomez said that nothing they were doing for Grandma was helping and Granddaddy had a rather homespun remark:

"Isn't that like putting water in a pipe and it runs straight through?"  When Dr. Gomez said yes, the Granddaddy said, "Then I want to take her home".

My mother remembered that granddaddy said "where you go, I will go" which really would have been what my grandma would have said to him.  Granddaddy just knew that Grandma wanted to go home - not just to Heaven but to their Ryar Road home.

Aunt Beth recalls that their parents had talked about not extending their lives with artificial devices so they had chosen for her not to have kidney dialysis.  Aunt Ann agreed with that.

And so it was that only three days after they took her home, just before 9:00 AM on Thursday, May 20, 1971, Granddaddy Nesmith and his five daughters bid farewell to his wife, their mother and my grandma.

That was 46 years ago.  And what did that experience teach us - what did my grandparents leave us - Faith - Commitment and hopefully how to die!

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows