Double Graduation

Right as I was finishing up my finals week my sweet Grandma Moyle passed away. Education was so important to her and my grandpa so I felt like it was sweet timing knowing that I was graduating and making them proud. I think I've written about this before but when I had first applied to the MBA program I was getting very nervous that I wouldn't be able to complete the degree in a year and be able to balance school and work. I had been praying about it and my Grandpa Moyle came to mind and I could hear his deep gravely voice saying: "Believe in yourself. I know you can do it in a year. I'm so proud of you." I quickly wrote this down and hung it above my desk. I stared at that note every day. On the hardest days when my motivation and confidence were both diminished I would look at it and take heart that Grandpa knew I could do it and I wanted to make him proud. The morning when my mom called and let me know my Grandma had passed away in the night I walked into my office and sat at my desk and saw that note looking back at me. Tears came to my eyes as I imagined Grandpa with his arm around Grandma saying those same words to me but saying "we're so proud of you." I feel so blessed to know that there is a life after death and to know that those who leave us in this life don't really leave us. It makes death so much more hopeful, I don't know how people navigate loss without that knowledge.

So backing up I want to write about my experience saying bye to Grandma because it was so sweet. My mom had texted and said that things were declining rapidly and she thought it was the last day. I was able to FaceTime in and my mom turned the camera to my Grandma and softly woke her up. My Grandma's eyes flew open and she saw me on the phone my mom said to her "Do you know who that is?" she didn't say my name but kept saying "ohhh you're so sweet, you are so special." She then asked "Where are you?" I told her I was across the country in Pennsylvania but was sending lots of love and prayers her way she told me she loved me and to tell Jaden hi (he was so excited she remembered his name at the very end as she had a tendency to call him Braden) and that she hoped we had a good day and then said goodbye and closed her eyes again. It was such a tender couple of minutes I will never forget and am so grateful I was able to experience with my mom. I am so so grateful for technology that helps bridge the gap of distance between family and loved ones, especially during life's milestones. As my mom turned the camera back to herself to sign off I heard my Grandma say "oh I just can't believe all that I can see!" Makes you wonder what she was seeing. I know the veil is so thin and plan is so real. 

Thankfully for me my family was willing to schedule the funeral for the following week to allow some of the out of state grandkids time to travel in. This gave me time to submit final assignments and be officially done with school before we traveled home to be with family. 

Peaches

• Jaden brought me home a scone and some flowers for Valentine's Day. I always tease him when he gets me flowers because when we were first married one day he brought home flowers for our landlord and I was like "what do I have to do to get flowers" and he responded and said "I thought  you didn't like them!" I was so confused until I realized he must've misunderstood him once when I told him I don't like FAKE flowers. But I am a succor for real ones and he often surprises me with them on days other than Valentine's and our anniversary
• FaceTiming Grandma and telling her goodbye
• Technology that connects us from thousands of miles away
• Feeling my grandparents near
• Finishing my degree!!!!!
• Receiving so many congratulatory texts on finishing my degree and condolences texts about my grandma. I am so blessed to be so loved and supported by people across the globe
• Helping find music to put in the background of the picture slideshow. Grandma adored Shirley Temple and she and my grandpa both loved Nat King Cole so those two were a given. She also used to sing an old primary song "In the Leafy Treetops" every morning when I was younger and would sleepover at her house. I hope I can always remember her voice singing that song

• Enjoyed some Nilla Wafers (one of Grandma's favs) as I completed a group project
• Receiving a beautiful flower arrangement from one of my mom's good friends Julie Shupe

• Snagged some cute jackets at Target, couldn't decide between two colors, they were both on sale so I grabbed both of them. I'll call it a graduation present to myself

• Healthy ice cream is usually disgusting but I actually really enjoy this mint chocolate chip from Halo Top

• My Ugg slipper dupes finally came in all the way from Scotland. I ordered them back in December so even though the ship time was atrocious and I was kind of concerned they were a scam they actually look really similar to Uggs and were a fraction of the cost!

• For Mardi Gras this year I made jambalaya instead of gumbo and it was really good!

• Jaden can be a really funny restless sleeper. I was up finishing an assignment one night and came in to sit on the bed and finish and I see out of the corner of my eye him laying on his stomach and then his legs pop up and slowly lower like he was doing a hamstring curl. I was laughing so hard. And then soon after he flipped over and cradled a pillow. He keeps me laughing both day and night!

• Hitting submit on my final assignment. Felt so good!!!

• Mom sent me the cutest picture of me and my Grandma right after I got home from my mission in 2018. I'll give her a big hug again one day. What a comfort that is!

Pits

• Had a lot of late starts to work days these last few weeks as I finished my degree. I feel bad about dragging so much but my plate has been pretty full. I am so excited to only have to worry about work. Jaden keeps saying we're going to have to have some hobbies when we're in Dallas because we won't understand what free time is
• Although it is a really good thing that Grandma passed it doesn't mean loss is easy. Especially when I'm so far away. I just can't wait to give my mom a big hug and be there
• There was a train that tipped over in Ohio and dumped a bunch of chemicals in the river. This paired with a water treatment outage warning a couple of weeks ago in the city had me rethinking our tap water so I finally got a Brita filter and a couple of extra cases of water to have on hand. I know it's ironic but I always thought that since I drink so much water I didn't want to deal with a water filter. I decided to go for the large cooler style rather than the pitcher. We put it right in our fridge and honestly love it and can taste a difference. I should have bought one a year ago!