Thankful for My Mima
Posted: April 13, 2013 Filed under: Diet- comedy | Tags: grandmother, gratitude 2 Comments
As Carter and I passed some neighbors walking their very old dog she asked me, “Do you think that dog is depressed because he is old?”
“No, I think he just walks slowly and you are interpreting that as depression,” I told her.
“Do people get depressed when they get old?”
“Some do, but not everyone. My Grandmother Mima was the happiest old person I ever knew.”
I went on to retell Carter all about my wonderful maternal Grandmother who despite becoming a widow in her fifties, losing her sight to Macular Degeneration and not having much money her attitude about life got better and better the older she got. Very late in life she volunteered at a suicide hotline. I wish that I had recordings of her helping people find to bright side because she was very good at drawing out of people what they had to be thankful for.
She had a strong faith in God that I know served her well, but she did not press that on others, but rather lived her beliefs. Everyday was a great day for her almost until the end. She was diagnosed with a very painful back cancer and given two weeks to live. She announced she was good with God and ready to go trying to keep up her attitude until the end. But somehow those two painful weeks dragged on for four painful months. One day Mima woke up and looked at the nurse who sat vigil by her bed and said, “You said I’d be dead by now.”
It did not seem fair that she had to suffer when there was no hope for a different outcome, but despite the situation she still had a good attitude. The last time I saw her was when I brought the newborn Carter to meet her. Knowing that it might be the last time I saw her I wanted her to tell me the secret to being so happy.
“Lambykins,” that’s what she called me, “I was a miserable younger person. I always wanted things I could not have. I don’t know when that changed, but I know the second half of my life has been much happier than my first. I just am thankful for whatever happens.”
I try and remember this everyday. Gratitude is the best attitude.
Less Dana, More Good 
Dana, thank you for sharing this lovely memory of your Mima with us. I’m continually humbled by my own grateful-hearted friend, Mary S, an 80+ yr old, who greets each day with wonder, even though she has faced a lifetime of severe health problems and financial worries that require her to be employed in her ninth decade. Yet there is never a negative word from her. This dear woman, with so little, truly has more treasure than anyone I know. love, Holly
I sent you a reply to this. It said “this is wonderful reading! Worth while for everyone to read. I printed it out and am going to have it framed” Maybe it will come to you this time. I got a message after I sent the first reply that they couldn’t deliver it to you.,