How Covid Stole My Grandmother's Celebration Of Life Party
We strolled down the palm tree-lined street in the balmy Florida night, my sister and I, my grandmother, and her friend. The laughs were loud and the wine flowed from the brimming glasses they carried in their hands. No doubt, they were enjoying their vacation. But then again, it was hard to tell when my grandmother was in vacation mode, and when she was her normal, boisterous, fun-loving self. On this particular evening, she spotted a Rolls Royce... her dream car.
Wine glass in hand, she jumped on the hood and begged us to take her picture. That is a moment in time that I will never forget. Whether my grandmother was partying with her sisters, hosting large family holiday gatherings, running her boutique of over 30 years, tending to her orchids, or making sure she was doing her duty as a devout Catholic by having us all attend mass every Sunday, she was always the life of the party. There was never a day she wasn't surrounded by my loving grandfather and her husband of 71 years. By all accounts, she lived a good, long, life. At 92, her failing health proved to be too much, and she passed away peacefully at home. The fact that she was at home instead of an elder care facility or hospital was a blessing to our family. We could call and visit with safety protocols up until her last hours.
For a woman who would have wanted the party of a "lifetime" (pun intended), her funeral was attended by fewer than 30 of the closest family members. Cousins and family who lived out of the state were asked to stay home for fear of spreading Covid to one another and to my 96 year-old grandfather.
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