tw ;; death
today marks one year since i lost my grandmother. last year, i spent the entirety of january in the hospital at her side, bouncing between uncertainty, dread and hope. no one had any way of knowing how it would turn out, not until those final days, and they were the worst.
but i got through it. now a year has come along without warning, and no, there was no way to prepare once again. but - and at the risk of sounding cheesy - i really think it was made easier by my friends. my nanny never met a stranger. if she ran into you, she talked like you had grown up neighbors. she was funny, outgoing, blunt (god rest her soul, that woman was NOT beating around that bush) and always interested in being there for people. i'd like to think that, as shy as i am, i was able to inherit some of those traits. i hope she's proud of the woman i'm becoming, and i know in my heart that she's part of why i didn't face this one alone.
it's been one year. love has persevered once again, and because she helped raise me with this belief, i believe it always will.