I have been silent on this blog for awhile, but as Sara and I were discussing compiling memories of Grandma, I thought this would be another place to collect them so that others, near and far, could read each other's stories.
I have so many stories, that only one story doesn't seem appropriate, but I will get to that later.
For now, I thought I would share a few stories of what the last two weeks have been like for me. Each of us has had our different experience with Grandma as she has been on hospice care. I have had the privilege of staying with her several different nights, and many different days. There have been moments of complete joy and others of deep sadness. She has managed to, even in all her pain, make me laugh at her sillyness. Those are the moments I will cherish. Her most common phrase has been "Come on. Let's go." with both hands stretched out, looking for someone to get her out of that bed, she has things to do! :) In her frustration she has said some things, especially to Grandpa, that though they were tough, we also funny. Monday morning she told Grandpa she was going to call the police and start a riot if he didn't get her out of that bed.
But there have been times of peace when I could just sit there and hold her hand. I will never forget how soft her skin is or how beautiful her fingernails have remained. She has occassionally mumbled her prayers; most often it has been the Hail Mary. She has said thank you very much and even the occassional, "I love you." I have watched her kiss Grandpa at night, in the morning, and as he left for work. His love for her is the most tender thing I have ever experienced. Their love is a testimony to me, and I know I will live by their example.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Another email I found (written 5/14/07)
Julie"s Journey
Dear Friends and loved ones.
The following is a brief update on what is going on with my health issues.
Not a great deal has changed as far as treatment is concerned. I go for my chemo injections once per week and they follow with injections of Nupigen for three days in a row. The Nupigen is supposed to build my whte blood cells to help finght infections so I can go on hugging all of you and not get sick. Good plan.
Received some good news and that is that the cancer has stabilized. It seems that there is so many more things that they can do for cancer these days so I look forward to more and more positive results.
The only thing I have problems with are the side affects of the chemo treatments. Someone told me that the side affects are worse that the desease. I belive it.
For those I haven’t seen lately..............I miss you very much.
I am trying to get out and kind of "reclaim" my life again so some of you I have seen.
I love you all. Thanks for the prayers.
Julie
Dear Friends and loved ones.
The following is a brief update on what is going on with my health issues.
Not a great deal has changed as far as treatment is concerned. I go for my chemo injections once per week and they follow with injections of Nupigen for three days in a row. The Nupigen is supposed to build my whte blood cells to help finght infections so I can go on hugging all of you and not get sick. Good plan.
Received some good news and that is that the cancer has stabilized. It seems that there is so many more things that they can do for cancer these days so I look forward to more and more positive results.
The only thing I have problems with are the side affects of the chemo treatments. Someone told me that the side affects are worse that the desease. I belive it.
For those I haven’t seen lately..............I miss you very much.
I am trying to get out and kind of "reclaim" my life again so some of you I have seen.
I love you all. Thanks for the prayers.
Julie
Monday, February 26, 2007
GRANDPA CARPENTER'S FRIED EGGS
Melt a small lump of butter in a small skillet.
Use low heat.
After the butter is melted, add a tablespoon of water.
Then add one egg and cover for two minutes.
Slide out and add one buttered piece of toast.
Next is GC's famous( or infamous) chili.
Love and kisses, Grandma C.
----- Original Message -----
Use low heat.
After the butter is melted, add a tablespoon of water.
Then add one egg and cover for two minutes.
Slide out and add one buttered piece of toast.
Next is GC's famous( or infamous) chili.
Love and kisses, Grandma C.
----- Original Message -----
Julie’s Journey
Just an update on what’s going on in my new "jouney"
As of Tuesday, Feb.21 , I have received three chemo therapy treatments plus much love and support at Burlington Hospital. In between, they have given me extra fluids intravenously plus a shot to increase my white count. Along with this I wear a pain patch plus I take pills for pain and nausea. My intake of enzymes is at about 9 per day.
Keeping track of all of this is a chore but................keeps my mind occupied along with the jigsaw puzzles.
Each day, Neal gets the mail and brings me my presents of greeting cards. I do a few househould chores and then about 10am, I wrap my self in my prayer shawl, read my cards and sometimes the old ones to, page through my book on hummingbirds, and think about all the good food our family has been making and bringing in freezer containers on the weekend. Didn’t know we had such good cooks in the family. Here I thought I was the only one. Hmmmmmm.
Charting the course of the medications is one of my jobs. I take my temperature and mark the pill reactions down so that my "medical team" has good information. The least I can do.
The prayers are coming from all over the place. How blessed can one person be. Now I am getting brave and bold . As I go around town doing my errands and folks ask how I am, I ask them for their prayers. More knees bending, eh.
I love all of you. Julie
Just an update on what’s going on in my new "jouney"
As of Tuesday, Feb.21 , I have received three chemo therapy treatments plus much love and support at Burlington Hospital. In between, they have given me extra fluids intravenously plus a shot to increase my white count. Along with this I wear a pain patch plus I take pills for pain and nausea. My intake of enzymes is at about 9 per day.
Keeping track of all of this is a chore but................keeps my mind occupied along with the jigsaw puzzles.
Each day, Neal gets the mail and brings me my presents of greeting cards. I do a few househould chores and then about 10am, I wrap my self in my prayer shawl, read my cards and sometimes the old ones to, page through my book on hummingbirds, and think about all the good food our family has been making and bringing in freezer containers on the weekend. Didn’t know we had such good cooks in the family. Here I thought I was the only one. Hmmmmmm.
Charting the course of the medications is one of my jobs. I take my temperature and mark the pill reactions down so that my "medical team" has good information. The least I can do.
The prayers are coming from all over the place. How blessed can one person be. Now I am getting brave and bold . As I go around town doing my errands and folks ask how I am, I ask them for their prayers. More knees bending, eh.
I love all of you. Julie
Monday, February 5, 2007
this blog
i have been thinking about tradition and our pasts. as much as we'd like to deny it, they make us who we are. we come from a long line of people and lives that have eventually shaped our own. our lives will shape others for years to come. the actions i take now, the people i love now, the life i live, will someday affect others.
so where did i come from, what is the tradition left before. who are the people.
one of those people is my grandma carpenter. as anyone who is reading this well knows by now, my dear grandma has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and actually starts chemotheropy tomorrow.
though i've known for a little while now, i don't know that i truly have let it sink in. she told me this weekend to pray, and so that is how i have decided to cope.
the other thing i really want to do is gain everything i possibly can from her. she has so many things in my life that have impacted my heart... stories she's told, wisdom she's passed on, gifts she has given. two things, in recent years, that have meant the world to me have been that i really need to let go and truly enjoy the world around me... and the other was to quit my job, because there was something else out there. since then, i have fallen in love and quit my job, finding a job that will hopefully really suit my style. i couldn't have done it without her.
so i created this blog. here i will keep stories... one's from her own mouth, through her fingers (from emails or letters), and those others will tell of her.
she is an inspiration to me. she has lived her life everyday. she never quit, even through some tough ones. she paints, she writes, she calls, she helps those in need, she makes others feel welcome with her. she is proud. she is proud of her children and her art.
we'll see where this goes, for now, here are a few things she recently sent me in an email. read on... enjoy the stories and the wisdom from my grandma: juliet carpenter.
so where did i come from, what is the tradition left before. who are the people.
one of those people is my grandma carpenter. as anyone who is reading this well knows by now, my dear grandma has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and actually starts chemotheropy tomorrow.
though i've known for a little while now, i don't know that i truly have let it sink in. she told me this weekend to pray, and so that is how i have decided to cope.
the other thing i really want to do is gain everything i possibly can from her. she has so many things in my life that have impacted my heart... stories she's told, wisdom she's passed on, gifts she has given. two things, in recent years, that have meant the world to me have been that i really need to let go and truly enjoy the world around me... and the other was to quit my job, because there was something else out there. since then, i have fallen in love and quit my job, finding a job that will hopefully really suit my style. i couldn't have done it without her.
so i created this blog. here i will keep stories... one's from her own mouth, through her fingers (from emails or letters), and those others will tell of her.
she is an inspiration to me. she has lived her life everyday. she never quit, even through some tough ones. she paints, she writes, she calls, she helps those in need, she makes others feel welcome with her. she is proud. she is proud of her children and her art.
we'll see where this goes, for now, here are a few things she recently sent me in an email. read on... enjoy the stories and the wisdom from my grandma: juliet carpenter.
poems
“Oh, that was my Mother’s”
This woman that I kind of know
Is so very everydayish.
Not better than the most of us,
Not down there with the worst of us
Just kind of in the middle.
She has a kind of homespun cozy way about her and
Thinks that rocks plucked from the shore are good
And the best of life is found in peanut butter,
Oatmeal and homemade bread.
Her ending day’s delight is
Knitting by an open fire.
While she watches sunsets,
She reminisces about her early childhood days,
Early married years and early Grandma times.
Hear and there about her home there is a basket,
A bowl, a dish or sometimes a thing she is wearing
That begs a comment from a visitor.
Very often she answers with that old time grace,
“ Oh, that was my Mother’s .”
Ode to the Huggers
Hooray for the huggers,
Hip, hip hooray
A good hug can last you
All through the day.
Good huggers aren’t born
It takes practice you see.
There’s no school where you learn
And earn a degree.
Some families are huggers
They’ve got it down pat.
All the short, all the skinny
All the tall, all the fat.
If practice makes perfect,
and that’s what I’ve heard.
That’s probably their secret
in professional words.
Just how did they learn
each sister, each brother?
When their times were tough
They just clung to each other.
IT’S SAFE WITH Katie
Our thoughts and feelings are precious things
that are built upon the
shaky foundation of our youth
and tossed around by life events.
They are not what they used to be
They never are
Whatever they were at age 10 or 20 or 40,
they have been strained and filtered
into something very different today.
We all look for places for
these precious and private things
Wherever we keep them we want them to be safe
With my friend, they are safe.
She will love them, treasure them and
respect them because she knows their
source.
Unfinished
It’s important to try
lots of stuff this and that.
so that when you arrive
at that place where you’re at.
And you’ve dressed for the day
You choose the right hat.
Just suppose that you get a call from your friends
to meet them for tea
Or you plan to sail the seven seas
or climb some mountains
Or go to the palace
and have lunch with Alice
She lives in a palace
Her Mom’s Blue Jars
A friend and I were talking
about our childhood
about our times so long ago,
about our Mothers
Their lives were different than ours,
more cleaning, more gardening, more cooking .
We talked about their joys
We talked about their sadness.
We asked ourselves,
what little thing of theirs could we keep
to remind us of these long ago women
who taught us that life would be good if we were.
My friend wanted to keep her Mom’s blue jars.
As a child she watched as the jars were filled
with precious food to keep the large family
fed during the long hard winter months.
One by one, emptied, washed and placed back on the shelf.
The blue jars stood like sentrys waiting
to be called upon to preserve and protect.
Waiting patiently
for their call to duty.
In the bright blessed light of the summer sun.
those blue sentrys gleamed.
Small blue eyes seeing more than blue.
They stood and waited in their very silent place
showing off their beauty .
WHAT DOES A FRIEND LOOK LIKE
I always wondered if I would know a
friend by how they looked
or where they lived
or how much money they had
or if they took vacations
or who their friends were.
I also wondered if a person
had only one best friend,
but when I grew up I found
the best in many friends.
I have a friend for each of
the following, when I go through
things with my man, my Mom,
my kids, my job, my neighbors.
One that I shop with, cry with,
get confused with and one that
takes me back after I have
made a complete fool of myself.
Seldom do I find one friend with
many of these things all wrapped up
in one. But I have one that has many,
that I look to for support and love.
Come to think of it, she does have
a look. She wears a funny red hat,
has curly white hair, lives on a farm,
paints watercolors and is always there
when I need a friend. She was sent
from God. I will remember to thank
Him for the gift of her.
This woman that I kind of know
Is so very everydayish.
Not better than the most of us,
Not down there with the worst of us
Just kind of in the middle.
She has a kind of homespun cozy way about her and
Thinks that rocks plucked from the shore are good
And the best of life is found in peanut butter,
Oatmeal and homemade bread.
Her ending day’s delight is
Knitting by an open fire.
While she watches sunsets,
She reminisces about her early childhood days,
Early married years and early Grandma times.
Hear and there about her home there is a basket,
A bowl, a dish or sometimes a thing she is wearing
That begs a comment from a visitor.
Very often she answers with that old time grace,
“ Oh, that was my Mother’s .”
Ode to the Huggers
Hooray for the huggers,
Hip, hip hooray
A good hug can last you
All through the day.
Good huggers aren’t born
It takes practice you see.
There’s no school where you learn
And earn a degree.
Some families are huggers
They’ve got it down pat.
All the short, all the skinny
All the tall, all the fat.
If practice makes perfect,
and that’s what I’ve heard.
That’s probably their secret
in professional words.
Just how did they learn
each sister, each brother?
When their times were tough
They just clung to each other.
IT’S SAFE WITH Katie
Our thoughts and feelings are precious things
that are built upon the
shaky foundation of our youth
and tossed around by life events.
They are not what they used to be
They never are
Whatever they were at age 10 or 20 or 40,
they have been strained and filtered
into something very different today.
We all look for places for
these precious and private things
Wherever we keep them we want them to be safe
With my friend, they are safe.
She will love them, treasure them and
respect them because she knows their
source.
Unfinished
It’s important to try
lots of stuff this and that.
so that when you arrive
at that place where you’re at.
And you’ve dressed for the day
You choose the right hat.
Just suppose that you get a call from your friends
to meet them for tea
Or you plan to sail the seven seas
or climb some mountains
Or go to the palace
and have lunch with Alice
She lives in a palace
Her Mom’s Blue Jars
A friend and I were talking
about our childhood
about our times so long ago,
about our Mothers
Their lives were different than ours,
more cleaning, more gardening, more cooking .
We talked about their joys
We talked about their sadness.
We asked ourselves,
what little thing of theirs could we keep
to remind us of these long ago women
who taught us that life would be good if we were.
My friend wanted to keep her Mom’s blue jars.
As a child she watched as the jars were filled
with precious food to keep the large family
fed during the long hard winter months.
One by one, emptied, washed and placed back on the shelf.
The blue jars stood like sentrys waiting
to be called upon to preserve and protect.
Waiting patiently
for their call to duty.
In the bright blessed light of the summer sun.
those blue sentrys gleamed.
Small blue eyes seeing more than blue.
They stood and waited in their very silent place
showing off their beauty .
WHAT DOES A FRIEND LOOK LIKE
I always wondered if I would know a
friend by how they looked
or where they lived
or how much money they had
or if they took vacations
or who their friends were.
I also wondered if a person
had only one best friend,
but when I grew up I found
the best in many friends.
I have a friend for each of
the following, when I go through
things with my man, my Mom,
my kids, my job, my neighbors.
One that I shop with, cry with,
get confused with and one that
takes me back after I have
made a complete fool of myself.
Seldom do I find one friend with
many of these things all wrapped up
in one. But I have one that has many,
that I look to for support and love.
Come to think of it, she does have
a look. She wears a funny red hat,
has curly white hair, lives on a farm,
paints watercolors and is always there
when I need a friend. She was sent
from God. I will remember to thank
Him for the gift of her.
prayers
When I pray in the morning
and ask the Lord what chores He has for me,
I always forget that what’s in the present moment is the answer.
What He wants is right there before me.
It would help though, if He would just send me an email.
As soon as I say, thy will be done......off I go
As I tear through life and tear I do,
I hope and pray that it is what He wants.
At the end of this road
As I run toward heavens gate
With my clothes tattered and torn
My knees all skinned up
Huffing and puffing and my hair all eskew
The Lord will meet me and I will say,
Did I do ok
and He will pat me on the head and tell me
You did just fine.
and ask the Lord what chores He has for me,
I always forget that what’s in the present moment is the answer.
What He wants is right there before me.
It would help though, if He would just send me an email.
As soon as I say, thy will be done......off I go
As I tear through life and tear I do,
I hope and pray that it is what He wants.
At the end of this road
As I run toward heavens gate
With my clothes tattered and torn
My knees all skinned up
Huffing and puffing and my hair all eskew
The Lord will meet me and I will say,
Did I do ok
and He will pat me on the head and tell me
You did just fine.
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