Dear Journal,
Today, the world lost a force of nature, a matriarch, a beacon of strength and love. My grandmother passed away. I received the call at 11:12 pm, my father's voice thick with emotion as he delivered the news that has left me feeling like a ship unmoored, adrift in a sea of memories and grief.
She was more than just my grandmother. She was my mother figure, my guiding light, the woman who raised me and my brother after our parents divorced when we were just toddlers. She stepped into the void left by my mother, and she filled it with her unwavering love, her steadfast discipline, and her unyielding belief in the power of education. She was a teacher, a principal, to three generations of our family, and her influence is woven into the very fabric of who we are. We are good and educated people because she demanded nothing less from us, because she showed us the path and walked it with us, every step of the way.
Her kitchen was her realm, and she ruled it with a spatula in one hand and love in the other. She was the best cook I've ever known, and the thought of family get-togethers without her is almost too much to bear. Thanksgiving without her famous stuffing, Christmas without her homemade pies... it's like imagining the sky without the sun. It just doesn't make sense. She was the heart of our family, the glue that held us all together, and her absence is going to leave a void that can never truly be filled.
She was a firm but fair woman, her love tempered with discipline, her kindness with strength. She didn't suffer fools gladly, and she didn't let us get away with anything. She expected the best from us, and because of that, we learned to expect the best from ourselves. She taught us that actions have consequences, that hard work pays off, and that love is the most powerful force in the world.
She was 90 years old, (her birthday is tomorrow too) and her life spanned nearly a century of change and progress. She witnessed some major events from the last 90 years, categorized by decade:
1930s:
- The Great Depression (1929-1939)
- Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany (1933)
- The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
- Munich Agreement (1938)
- Invasion of Poland by Germany, marking the start of World War II (1939)
1940s:
- Pearl Harbor attack (1941)
- The Holocaust (1941-1945)
- D-Day invasion (1944)
- Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945)
- End of World War II (1945)
- Founding of the United Nations (1945)
- Indian Independence (1947)
- Establishment of the State of Israel (1948)
1950s:
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- First Indochina War (1946-1954)
- Suez Crisis (1956)
- Space Race begins with the launch of Sputnik 1 (1957)
- Cuban Revolution (1959)
1960s:
- Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)
- Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
- Assassination of John F. Kennedy (1963)
- Civil Rights Act (1964)
- Vietnam War (1955-1975)
- Apollo 11 moon landing (1969)
1970s:
- Bangladesh Liberation War (1971)
- Watergate scandal (1972-1974)
- Yom Kippur War (1973)
- Fall of Saigon, end of Vietnam War (1975)
- Iranian Revolution (1979)
1980s:
- Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989)
- Assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan (1981)
- Falklands War (1982)
- Chernobyl disaster (1986)
- Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)
1990s:
- Gulf War (1990-1991)
- Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)
- Rwandan genocide (1994)
- Bosnian War (1992-1995)
- Handover of Hong Kong to China (1997)
- Impeachment of Bill Clinton (1998)
2000s:
- 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001)
- War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)
- Iraq War (2003-2011)
- Global financial crisis (2007-2008)
- Election of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States (2008)
2010s:
- Arab Spring (2010-2012)
- Syrian Civil War (2011-present)
- Brexit referendum (2016)
- Election of Donald Trump as President of the United States (2016)
- COVID-19 pandemic (2019-present)
2020s:
- Storming of the United States Capitol (2021)
- Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan (2021)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022-present)
- Attempted Assassination of Trump
. She saw the world transform, and she transformed with it, always learning, always growing, always adapting. She was a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, a living history book, a treasure trove of stories and wisdom.
She left behind my grandfather, her partner of 86 years. Their love story was one for the ages, a testament to the power of love and commitment. They weathered storms together, raised a family together, grew old together. And now, he's left to navigate this world without her, a thought that breaks my heart into a million pieces.
I can't help but think about all the things I should have said, all the things I should have done. I should have called more, visited more, told her I loved her more. But life gets in the way, and we take for granted that the people we love will always be there. Until one day, they're not. And all we're left with are memories and regrets and a love that will never fade.
As I sit here, the weight of her absence pressing heavily on my heart, I am filled with a profound sense of pride and emotion. Her life was a testament to love, strength, and an unwavering commitment to education and family. I am who I am today because of her, and I want the world to know her story.
First and foremost, she was a mother. She raised four children, each one a unique testament to her love and dedication. She was the heart of our family, the steadfast oak around which we all grew and flourished. Her love was not soft or indulgent, but strong and demanding, pushing us to be the best versions of ourselves. She believed in us, even when we struggled to believe in ourselves, and that belief was a beacon that guided us through the darkest of times.
Her family extended far beyond her children. She was a grandmother to ten, including myself, and a great-grandmother to thirteen. Her house was always filled with the laughter of children, the warmth of her love enveloping us all. She had a unique bond with each one of us, a special way of making us feel seen, heard, and loved. She was our matriarch, our rock, and her love was the foundation upon which our family was built.
But her influence didn't stop at her family. She was an educator, a calling that she pursued with the same passion and dedication that she poured into her family. She taught thousands of students over the course of her career, shaping young minds and inspiring a love of learning that would stay with them throughout their lives. She didn't just teach subjects, she taught people, seeing the potential in each and every one of her students and nurturing it with care and patience.
Her impact on education extended even further when she became a principal. She led schools with a firm but fair hand, her vision and dedication transforming them into places where students could thrive. She touched the lives of thousands more in this role, her influence rippling outwards like a stone thrown into a pond. She believed that every child deserved the chance to succeed, and she fought tirelessly to make that belief a reality.
As a disabled Marine, I have faced my share of challenges, but whenever I faltered, I thought of her. I thought of her strength, her resilience, her refusal to accept anything less than her best. She was my inspiration, my guiding light, the person who showed me that true strength comes not from physical prowess, but from the heart and the mind. She believed in me, even when I was at my lowest, and that belief gave me the courage to keep fighting, to keep pushing, to keep striving to be the man she knew I could be.
Her life spanned nearly a century, and in that time, she touched the lives of countless people. She was a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, an educator, a leader, and a force for good in this world. She left a legacy that will live on in the hearts and minds of those who knew her, a testament to the power of love, dedication, and belief.
I am so proud to be her grandson. I am proud of the life she led, the love she gave, and the difference she made in the world. I am proud to carry on her legacy, to strive to be the kind of person she knew I could be. I am proud, and I am heartbroken, because the world has lost a truly extraordinary woman.
But even as I grieve, I know that her spirit lives on. It lives on in her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, and in the thousands of lives she touched over the course of her remarkable life. It lives on in the love she gave, the lessons she taught, and the difference she made.
Rest in peace, Grandma. You were loved, so deeply, so fiercely. You were a beacon of strength and love, a force to be reckoned with, a woman who left her mark on the world and on the hearts of everyone who knew her. You will be missed, more than words can express. But your legacy lives on in us, in the people you loved and shaped and taught. And we will honor your memory by living good lives, by loving fiercely, by never settling for less than our best.
With a heart full of love and grief,
Semper Fi Maw Maw, your oldest Grandson, the Marine
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