Ruby

Usually I leave work at 4:00 on Mondays to get to class by 4:30. Today, I was taking my time for two reasons. 1. We have an event at work tomorrow that I was preparing for, and 2. It was rather cold and rainy and I simply wasn't in a huge rush to walk to class (whyyyy did I wait until years after "graduation" to take freshman biology??).

My father called me at 4:40 as I was about to drag myself into class to tell me the news.

I remember driving to the hospital in complete silence. I remember thinking that I hoped I didn't get in a wreck because I could tell my reaction time was really bad, and it was almost rush hour.

I refused to go into the room. My grandmother is a beautiful, spunky, bubbly, lady. Not the body that remained. When the nurse said, "She's ready if you want to see her now" my grandfather replied, "She isn't in there. She's in heaven with her savior". 

I drove home in the rain and remember getting really frustrated that my windshield wipers weren't working. I realized tears were crowding my vision, not the rain.

I didn't know what to do when I got home. So, I took a bath. And I texted my most loved friends because they always know the right thing to say. 

Em encouraged me to write. So I did. And I am.


Her name was Ruby. She has been struggling with health complications for about 16 months.

Her name is Ruby.

I have no idea what her natural hair color is because she began dying her hair red to match mine ever since I could remember.

Her favorite song is the hymn, "In the Garden". She claims that the only book she ever read all the way through was the Bible.

She ate dessert first, especially if it was chocolate. She is the only person I know who drinks more Coca-Cola than I do.

Memommie and Me, 2006.

She loves college basketball. And  I loved watching any show on the Food Network with her, especially The Barefoot Contessa.

She makes the best waffles and never drinks coffee. I never drink coffee.

I would really like one of those waffles right now.

She was a child of the dustbowl era and a survivor of hard upbringing in the Oklahoma country. If she never mentioned it though, you would never know it, her face didn't show it.

She was classy and kind, generous and thoughtful.

Ruby means precious gem, brings light into lives. 

There is not a single person on this earth that was more vocally encouraging to me on a consistent, daily basis than my grandmother. She was my biggest cheerleader. 

She was the definition of a lady and taught me how to be one, too.

"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Proverbs 31:29