Saying goodbye has always been the hardest thing for me to do. Learning to live on, knowing you would want me to keep my head up, gives me the strength I need to keep going.

Soon I am going to be saying goodbye to the one person who has always been there for me. The one person I could tell everything too. The one person that knew how to cheer me up. She has been a major impact in my life, and has been more of a grandparent to me than all of mine combined.

Last month my great-grandma was told her liver was failing. They then told us that she had pancreatic cancer, and that she would not make it to her next birthday. This news broke my heart. Someone I have known my whole life, laughed with for sixteen years, cried with, has seen all of my imperfections, and told me everything would be okay.

Everyday I go and visit her, not knowing what to expect. Some days she is asleep, and I do not want to wake her, so I just tell her I love her and leave. Other days, she is awake and tells me that everything is going to be okay and that no matter what, she loves me.

Part of me wants to let go, because I know I will eventually have to. The other part wants her to be here forever. I am learning to accept that she needs peace. I never understood how big of an impact she has had on my life until I couldn’t go see her everyday.  A ton of people do not live ninety-two years old, and it is so crazy to think about all of the things she has witnessed and lived through. All of the things she has taught me, all of the stories she told, will never leave me.

I am so thankful that I have been able to spend my life getting to know you, Gladys. You will forever be in my heart and my mind.