Waving Goodbye

So, today I decided to pay a visit to my grandma. I know I should more often. I always put it off for some reason or another. Okay, I'll be honest: I know exactly why I always put it off.
My grandma's memory has been going for a long time. And even though I know that she has no control over it, it always hurts me when she forgets who I am, or forgets what she's said minutes earlier. She always recognizes me, and that I am SO grateful for, but I don't think she always realizes that I'm her grandchild.


Well, I really felt like I needed to go see her today. So my dad and I hiked the few blocks to her home. We visited with her for 15 minutes or so, since she was getting ready to go to lunch, and then took a short walk with her.
She said the things I usually hear from her, "My you're growing so! You're taller than me now!" and "How old are you now?"


Then she surprised me with a new one, with tears filling her eyes: "I can't believe how beautiful you are." And even though she forgot and said it again a few minutes later, it really got me.
REALLY got me. And so for the remaining few moments I had with her, I couldn't stop thinking. Despite all the things that happen, growing older and forgetting more and more, something strikes me: even with age, comes experience, comes forgiveness, comes a deeper meaning of love, comes more appreciation for the things that REALLY matter, comes thoughts about time, and comes floods of memories.


As we walked out, my dad told me to turn around. There was my grandma, waving at me. We kept walking, but my dad told me, his mom has done that has far back as he can remember. She waves up until the very last seconds she's with that person. I don't know if it's just her acknowledging their presence; my dad said he honestly didn't know why.


But I there I went thinking again (something I do quite a lot). It makes sense, acknowledging someone and making every moment count with them until the last second when they leave. Think about it. What if that time happens to be the last time you're with them? It's honestly, a kind of scary thought, I know, but seriously, we have no idea what the future holds, and what will happen. How long we'll be here, or how long the people we know will either...


It just made me think about what thoughts I leave with people, how much I treasure them, and what I can do to make every single moment count. Sounds sappy, yes, but next time someone waves to you. Think about it. You encounter every person for a reason.