Sunflowers make most people smile. They are bright and cheery and represent the height of summer. I too love the sight of a sunflower. (In fact, I just snapped the above giants in the Garden at Jonathan's school a few weeks ago.) But I must admit that for me the sight of a sunflower is bittersweet. Eight years ago today, I carried three beautiful sunflowers into my precious 88-year old Grandmother Daugherty's new, temporary room within a nursing care building in Upper Arlington. She had fallen while walking outside of her assisted-living building (her daily routine) over Labor Day weekend and her brittle bones did not fare well. A determined woman and life-long Christian Scientist, she was not happy being confined to this hospital-like nursing care facility. Not happy at all. But, in usual fashion she was trying her best to see the silver lining. That day I took her by wheelchair on a walk around the building and out onto a small patio where she reveled in the warm filtered September sun. We eventually went back inside to her corridor and found a nice sunny window to sit in front of as we visited. She and I went through each of the grandchildren (my cousins) and she updated me in detail on each one. Little did I know that this day would be the last day I would see my treasure of a grandmother. The next day she had a stroke while in a therapy session and the following day, with several grandchildren and her four beautiful daughters by her side, Gramie passed away. That afternoon a group of us went back to that temporary room and gathered her belongings. We all chuckled as we tossed the therapeutic black laced shoes into the trash. She, who wore beautiful, elegant non-sensible shoes every day of her life, was smiling too -- we were all sure of that. As we left the room, I carried with me those three still-in-full-bloom sunflowers. What brought her a smile on Monday produced streams of tears for me on Wednesday. 
As she aged and watched her dear Paul John and so many of her peers pass on, she always tenderly said, "Oh, someday I just want to blow away."
And so she did.
And that is why I cannot look at a sunflower without thinking of my
always bright, always positive, always beautiful grandmother.
In fact, I have three in a vase in my kitchen bay window this week --
in honor of precious Eleanor Greene Daugherty -- our Gramie.
3 comments:
What a beautiful entry!
Grandmothers have a special place in the hearts of their families. Eleanor totally deserves to be remembered and celebrated with vibrant sunflowers.
thank you molly, for a wonderful writing about gramie. i hope you don't mind that i found your blog through facebook. much love, abby.
I hope some day that my grandchildren will love and miss me as much as you do your Grandmother Daugherty. What a loving and beautiful tribute you have written about her. Now when I see sunflowers I will think of you and the love you have for you Gramie, she was beautiful.
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