40-40-40 ... Day 22: Amazima
Today would have been my grandmother's 84th birthday. She's been gone now just 2 days shy of a month and it's still hard for me to believe she isn't here.
My grandfather died unexpectedly in 1996. A few months before his death, he told me that if anything ever happened to him that my grandmother would move to Ohio and we would have to take care of her. So when he died later that same year, I fully expected my grandmother to move in with us. She was 62 at the time and, to my 16-year-old self, was old and needed us to take care of her. My 65-year-old grandfather had just passed away, confirming that grandma, too, didn't have long to live.
So when my grandma didn't move in with us, instead traveling the world, running off to Mexico and Spain and casinos and forming "Bible studies" (can you still call it a Bible study when there are margaritas involved?) I was confused. And mad. And guilty because is there anything worse than being mad at your grandma? So I did the only thing I could think of. At the age of 23 I moved in with her.
It was during that year that my grandma taught me it isn't selfish to move on with life after a great loss. Quite the opposite: it's selfish not to. It would have been selfish to give up and not share her love and light and joy and margaritas with the world for the 21 good years she still had left. (And, frankly, it's easier to cope with loss by being busy than by being still.) Now that she is gone too I can be sad, yes, but not still. For however many days those of us who are left behind have we should live them fiercely and fully and freely, not bound by what was, but open to what is and can be. Just like she did.
Today I am making my donation to Amazima. One of the things that my grandmother and I began sharing that year that I lived with her was books and our love of reading. One of the books I shared with her during our last visit together in October 2017 was "Kisses from Katie" by Katie Davis, who moved to Uganda and adopted a gaggle of orphans and started a foundation called Amazima that feeds and educates children in her neighborhood. A Katie-girl running off to another country to care for orphans... "Sounds about right," my grandma said.
HUG your grandma. Or move in with her. I promise you won't regret it.
READ "Kisses from Katie" or its follow up book "Daring to Hope."
FOLLOW Amazima on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Pinterest.
CHECK OUT the fabulous Ann Voskamp's blog post about the 3 days she spent with Katie in Uganda.
DONATE to the Amazima scholarship program ($25 a month or a minimum of $300) or to Amazima in general.
*Note: The donation site would not accept my credit card. I've put out an email to their donor help to get some answers!
**The photo of my mom and grandma hand in hand is courtesy of Dan Kasztelan. 💗
My grandfather died unexpectedly in 1996. A few months before his death, he told me that if anything ever happened to him that my grandmother would move to Ohio and we would have to take care of her. So when he died later that same year, I fully expected my grandmother to move in with us. She was 62 at the time and, to my 16-year-old self, was old and needed us to take care of her. My 65-year-old grandfather had just passed away, confirming that grandma, too, didn't have long to live.
So when my grandma didn't move in with us, instead traveling the world, running off to Mexico and Spain and casinos and forming "Bible studies" (can you still call it a Bible study when there are margaritas involved?) I was confused. And mad. And guilty because is there anything worse than being mad at your grandma? So I did the only thing I could think of. At the age of 23 I moved in with her.
It was during that year that my grandma taught me it isn't selfish to move on with life after a great loss. Quite the opposite: it's selfish not to. It would have been selfish to give up and not share her love and light and joy and margaritas with the world for the 21 good years she still had left. (And, frankly, it's easier to cope with loss by being busy than by being still.) Now that she is gone too I can be sad, yes, but not still. For however many days those of us who are left behind have we should live them fiercely and fully and freely, not bound by what was, but open to what is and can be. Just like she did.
ACTION STEPS
HUG your grandma. Or move in with her. I promise you won't regret it.
READ "Kisses from Katie" or its follow up book "Daring to Hope."
FOLLOW Amazima on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Pinterest.
CHECK OUT the fabulous Ann Voskamp's blog post about the 3 days she spent with Katie in Uganda.
DONATE to the Amazima scholarship program ($25 a month or a minimum of $300) or to Amazima in general.
*Note: The donation site would not accept my credit card. I've put out an email to their donor help to get some answers!
**The photo of my mom and grandma hand in hand is courtesy of Dan Kasztelan. 💗
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