Good Bye Grandma Neppl

Ed's grandmother passed away this week-end. She lived a nice long live of 90 years. Last February she had a birthday and all the kids and grandkids (and some great grandkids) came. She was pretty healthy then. The picture below is Grandma Neppl, Ed, Phil & Julie and John & Sue & Faith & Sean.

It is never easy to say goodbye to someone you love , but I think the loss is lessened when your memories (and theirs) are happy ones. Imagine how wonderful it must have been to see her family around her. And her grandkids (John, Ed and Phil) where there and in touch - even though her son (their father) was dead.

I think Grandparents are a hugely important link. I appreciate my mom keeping me close to my dad's parents after the divorce, and I appreciate Jo making sure her kids were still close to their paternal grandparents after the divorce. And I mean "appreciate" in the full sense of I am thankful for the effort and the selflessness. Divorce sucks. And navigating the tricky waters of ex-inlaws can be awful. It is a tribute to our moms that they did this for the kids.

As for Grandma Neppl. She outlived her husband, and had an amazing 90th birthday. She then kind of "unwound" a little - a finally died in her sleep. Like my grandmother Zela, she had done her job of raising everyone well and it was time to move on. I bet heaven is full of mid-west grandparents who kept answering to the needs of others until the end. And who died full of warm and happy memories. Bless you Grandma Neppl (and may you meet my Zela in the afterlife).