Remembering Grandma Mills

It's intriguing how certain dates trigger memories. Birthdays are an obvious one, anniversaries less so, and then there's the "other" category. It could be your first date, when you started your job or something more life altering like a car accident or the death of a loved one. In fact, as I type this I can hear my coworkers discussing the date they were previously laid off.

June 6 is a sombre day for me each year. I don't intentionally mark the day but when I look at the calendar or somehow realize the date, I pause to remember that it was on June 6 that my grandma passed away. I was only 6 years old and it was my first real encounter with death. Perhaps that is why it is engrained in my brain.

Looking at this picture of the 2 of us reminds me of the details of our time spent together. Memories like: listening to her stories while we laid on her bed, riding on the back of her wheel chair, combing her long, grey hair, and playing hide & seek.