In the
middle of homework, I hear Mom call us down for dinner. I follow after Dad once
I hear the croak of the stairs underneath him. As I help Mom to set the table
and serve our plates, Dad sits down with a sigh, but we don't question him.
About ten minutes into dinner, he finally tells us what's been bothering him.
"Well, Aunt Rose isn't doing well. Ma told me that she's in pretty bad shape in the hospital, so her and Dad are going down to San Diego tomorrow.” he says in between a drink of Iced Tea.
In complete denial of what I had just heard I thought to myself, "Just a month or two ago she was in bad shape and she's still okay...how bad can she be?" Sudden memories of not being able to see Grandma Lucy (my great grandma) before she passed away flooded my mind. Before I could bite my tongue, I looked to my dad and said, "I want to go to San Diego too. I need to see Aunt Rose."
"Your Aunt Tina is going down tomorrow...you can go with her. But I do not want you to leave Tina's side! Do you understand me?"
I nodded yes.
Aunt Tina picked me up at around 9 on Thursday morning. On the ride down, we gossiped about family and what was going on at school and in work. I could feel her almost tense up when she told me, "Emi...now Aunt Rose is very sick. I just want to warn you, she doesn't look or seem like her usual self so if you can't handle it that's okay."
I simply shook my head so she knew I understood and looked out the window, not quite knowing what to expect.
We got our visitor wristbands and found Aunt Rose's room. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my beloved Aunt Lucille, whose diabetes is slowly stripping her body and life away. "Oh mija!” she said with a big smile. I gave her and my grandparents a hug and a kiss.
I turned and instantly whispered, "Oh, Aunt Rose". A terrible surge of sadness rushed through my body. She was simply bones with jaundiced skin, her yellowed eyes bulging out, and her hair oddly thin and discolored. "I know, I know. Don't say my name in that way. I already know.” she responded to me. I walked over and held her hand. To take our minds off of everything I smiled to her and said, "You know I just got my permit last month." Her eyes got even bigger, as if that was possible, and with shock in her voice answered, "Don't leave your car open. Always lock it. People will take anything they can from you!" It wasn't quite the response I was anticipating, but I've only forgotten to lock my car twice in the past two years; each time I hear her words of advice ring through my ears. Aunt Lucille broke the silence and started telling stories, and making the whole room laugh even in the saddest of times. The hospital discharged my aunt, and they sent Hospice to her daughter, Shonda's house, since that's where she would be staying. We stayed for the rest of the day and made sure she had been properly moved in to Shonda's house, and after that we returned home at around 9 p.m.
"Well, Aunt Rose isn't doing well. Ma told me that she's in pretty bad shape in the hospital, so her and Dad are going down to San Diego tomorrow.” he says in between a drink of Iced Tea.
In complete denial of what I had just heard I thought to myself, "Just a month or two ago she was in bad shape and she's still okay...how bad can she be?" Sudden memories of not being able to see Grandma Lucy (my great grandma) before she passed away flooded my mind. Before I could bite my tongue, I looked to my dad and said, "I want to go to San Diego too. I need to see Aunt Rose."
"Your Aunt Tina is going down tomorrow...you can go with her. But I do not want you to leave Tina's side! Do you understand me?"
I nodded yes.
Aunt Tina picked me up at around 9 on Thursday morning. On the ride down, we gossiped about family and what was going on at school and in work. I could feel her almost tense up when she told me, "Emi...now Aunt Rose is very sick. I just want to warn you, she doesn't look or seem like her usual self so if you can't handle it that's okay."
I simply shook my head so she knew I understood and looked out the window, not quite knowing what to expect.
We got our visitor wristbands and found Aunt Rose's room. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my beloved Aunt Lucille, whose diabetes is slowly stripping her body and life away. "Oh mija!” she said with a big smile. I gave her and my grandparents a hug and a kiss.
I turned and instantly whispered, "Oh, Aunt Rose". A terrible surge of sadness rushed through my body. She was simply bones with jaundiced skin, her yellowed eyes bulging out, and her hair oddly thin and discolored. "I know, I know. Don't say my name in that way. I already know.” she responded to me. I walked over and held her hand. To take our minds off of everything I smiled to her and said, "You know I just got my permit last month." Her eyes got even bigger, as if that was possible, and with shock in her voice answered, "Don't leave your car open. Always lock it. People will take anything they can from you!" It wasn't quite the response I was anticipating, but I've only forgotten to lock my car twice in the past two years; each time I hear her words of advice ring through my ears. Aunt Lucille broke the silence and started telling stories, and making the whole room laugh even in the saddest of times. The hospital discharged my aunt, and they sent Hospice to her daughter, Shonda's house, since that's where she would be staying. We stayed for the rest of the day and made sure she had been properly moved in to Shonda's house, and after that we returned home at around 9 p.m.
The next day was a Friday, and Aunt Tina and I had gone out once again to San Diego to be with Aunt Rose. This time, my mom and sister, and all of my Nana's (Dad's mom) sisters and brother had gone down. Even though this is my dad’s aunt, he refused to go down because he doesn't deal with death well and prefers to remember people by who they were while alive and not while they're extremely ill.
Little
did I know that the Thursday before would be the last time Aunt Rose would talk
unless she was crying out from pain. Even though she couldn't respond I still
held her hand and told her I loved her, and I could still feel a slight
response, like she would just barely squeeze my hand, and I knew she was trying
to tell me she loved me too.
My mom, sister, and I decided to not go back down to San Diego on Saturday so we could let all the siblings be by her side. At about 8:20 p.m. my mom received a text and tears grew in her eyes. She stated what I had already known. "Girls, your Aunt has passed on." My sister, who had been sitting next to me on the couch, ran upstairs with immediate sobs slipping from her lips. I sat on the couch for about ten minutes, completely numb and a feeling of blankness engulfing me. I got up, and with every step towards my room, I started to shake and had tears flowing down from my eyes. Never in my life had my heart ached so much.
My mom, sister, and I decided to not go back down to San Diego on Saturday so we could let all the siblings be by her side. At about 8:20 p.m. my mom received a text and tears grew in her eyes. She stated what I had already known. "Girls, your Aunt has passed on." My sister, who had been sitting next to me on the couch, ran upstairs with immediate sobs slipping from her lips. I sat on the couch for about ten minutes, completely numb and a feeling of blankness engulfing me. I got up, and with every step towards my room, I started to shake and had tears flowing down from my eyes. Never in my life had my heart ached so much.
In those three days, I learned to not take the time and the moments I had with my family for granted. I realized that there was no point in loving someone, whether it's family or friends, if you're not going to love with your whole heart.
13 comments:
I really appreciate you sharing this story with us. Even though death is very painful it always teaches us more. To be grateful. And it makes me happy that you became even more grateful for your family because family is everything and the only thing we have closest to us in this big world. I really felt all of your emotions and this was overall well written with the perfect amount of imagery. Thank you for sharing!
I really loved your story Emily. This is something that hits home to a lot of people which makes it very emotional and interesting to read. You did a wonderful job expressing your emotions through imagery and diction within the piece. I really enjoyed how you talked about the event then discussed what you learned from these moments. This defiantly made me rethink my actions and really appreciate what I have in my life. You did a great job!
I want to start off to say that this is an amazing piece. I could really feel the tone you used to convey the emotions. Also the imagery you used to describe your Aunt Rose when she was sick in the hospital was very moving. Many people experience a similar loss when their loved one gets sick so it easy to personally identify with this piece.
Wow Emily! This was such a great piece and I am so grateful that you shared it with all of us. Death is an extremely hard thing to go through especially at our age. I feel you're pain and I actually cried while reading your piece. I think what got me is when you described your Aunt Rose in the hospital and all I could think about is seeing my friend in the hospital and I think that truly messes with a person. Its hard seeing your loved ones in pain and not looking or acting as they normally do. I think overall this was a well written piece and can hit home to not only me, but many other students who have lost someone important or close to them in their lives.
I am so sorry about your lost Emily.. This made me emotional reading it and I can only imagine how you felt writing this. It's really hard to see family members in the hospital but at least you saw your Aunt Rose before she passed on. It really made me think about always visiting my family members and telling them how much I love them. I enjoyed you expressing your emotions and showing imagery throughout the whole thing. Very good job.
First off I want to say I am very sorry that you had to go through this, it is always the worst part about life that will continue to boggle my mind. Your story was so filled with emotion that the more I kept reading the words it was like they were coming alive and I felt like I was there. The story line was so meaningful it was truly an amazing piece. Great job Em, you're a great writer!
I'm so sorry for your loss. I just lost my aunt recently too and I can understand how you feel. You must've really loved your aunt though, I'm sure it must've been very painful for you. You talk about how she affected your life and how much of an impact her actions made on you so lightly throughout the poem it's evident that she was very influential on you. Thank you for showing how meaningful someone can be.
Emily, thank you for being so open about the loss of your Aunt Rose. It's such a hard thing to lose a family member, and you are so strong for sharing this experience with us. The message that you conveyed to us is so important for any person to realize. Your writing is very emotional and the mentioning of times demonstrates how much of an impact her death had on your life.
What a lovely story, thank you for sharing this with us and I am deeply sorry for your loss. Remember your aunt with your memories you made with her through the years and always love her. She is in a much happier state now and watching your grow. Lovely imagery and great job in recalling all the details of this event. Although diction was ordinary, it was not necessary for this piece. Great job again!
I am so sorry that you had to experience something so heartbreaking as that. Thank you so much for sharing that with the class, i know just how hard it can be. I think this piece shows great strength in yo as an individual. I believe that behind every loss there is a less and i am so glad that you found a new appreciation for not taking family for granted as that is often times more than easy to do. Once again thank you for sharing.
So sorry for your loss Emily. Thanks for sharing such a personal story! The detail and imagery you used added more emotional as a whole to the point where I knew exactly what you were going through at the time. Death is not an easy thing to handle, and I felt that you handled it so well when you were visiting your Aunt. Great job!
I'm terribly sorry you had to go through this, I'm glad that you mentioned the importance of loving the people in life with your full heart, I've yet to lose someone in life but after reading this I feel like I need to stop taking my time for granted with my friends and family. I most certainly hope that you, your aunt, and other loved ones can reunite with each other in the afterlife. Great job and may your Aunt Rose rest in peace!
It sucks you had to go through this. I'm sorry for your loss. It's amazing that you shared your story with us. How heartbreaking. It certainly allows me to know how to not take for granted the people surrounding me because you never know when they'll be gone Great piece thank you for sharing.
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