December 22nd, 2022.

So, today would be my great-grandma’s 103rd birthday, but sadly, she passed away from cancer (I forgot what kind) in August of 2019, a few months before her 100th birthday. I actually have two stories to tell about her birthday and death day.

My Great-Grandma’s 99th Birthday
Now, for her 99th birthday, we threw my great-grandma a surprise party, and by we, I mean the party was planned out by her two kids, my grandma and her younger brother, my grand-uncle, as well as her daughter-in-law, my grand-uncle’s wife (and thus my grand-aunt). Now, it was planned for me, my mom, and my grandma to meet my grand-uncle and aunt, as well as their daughter, my cousin Phillips, at a restaurant in Virginia, near the retirement home where my great-grandma lived. My great-grandma would come with my grand-uncle, grand-aunt, and Phillips. That’s exactly what happened. Then, we said, “Surprise!” and she said, “You should’ve waited until I turned 100!” She was happy, of course, but still thought we should’ve waited until her 100th birthday to do this. It’s a good thing we didn’t. Ever since her death, my family has always joked that it’s a good thing we threw my great-grandma a party for her 99th birthday, because she sadly never lived to see 100. That night was the last time I saw her in-person. I still miss her to this day.

Now, this next story is something I’m actually gonna try to make sound interesting.

The Day She Died
The day was August 10th, 2019. I don’t remember exactly what I was doing that day, but I do remember that my grandma fell down the stairs. I also remember that we were on Martha’s Vineyard, at our vacation home that we go to every August during the last month of my Summer Break. Anyways, my grandma broke her ankle, and I also remember that it was dark when the ambulance came to pick her up, so I’d say the ambulance came around 8 or 9 PM (ET). However, before that, something else happened. Something more important. We got a call. A call I’m sure no one in the house would want to get. Now, for context, my great-grandma had been in a hospital in Virginia for (if my memory serves correct) a month now. She had been diagnosed with cancer, and had to be hospitalized. Now, back to the call. It was from my grand-uncle and grand-aunt. My grand-uncle told me, my mom, and my injured grandma (who had ice on her ankle) that my great-grandma had passed away a few minutes ago. We just sat there on the couch, frozen. Luckily, we had called her a few days ago (I think it was like 1-2 days before she died), but I still feel sad that I never had the chance to say goodbye. We were all very sad: me, my mom, my grandma, my grand-uncle, and my grand-aunt. According to the latter two, they had gone to get dinner after sitting with my great-grandma in the hospital when, 10 minutes into their walk to a restaurant, they got a call from the doctor saying my great-grandma was going to die soon. They rushed back and were able to catch her just before her death. Then they made the call.


I felt so sad that day. I remember going to my notebook to write down all the information: her name, her date of birth (1919), her date of death, all that stuff.



I’m actually tearing up right now, telling you all this. I really, really, really miss her. All I can say is, cherish those moments with your loved ones, because one day, they’re gonna die, and whether you had the chance to say goodbye or not, it will still hurt. You’ll still miss them. Good night.