Everything is beautiful. That is how she saw the world. I like to think I get that from her… the ability to see beauty through ashes. My grandmother gave so much to our family. She taught us the meaning of family…by simply being her. She was the bell of the ball-even if that meant sitting around the table for Sunday dinner. She dressed to the nines and her hair and makeup were always perfect. But, the real beauty was in her smile… and the way her eyes would sparkle when she laughed. She blessed our family in more ways than I could write. But, perhaps the biggest blessing was not in the memories she gave us, but rather what she taught us. She taught us how to love.

No matter how much you try to prepare yourself for loss, it still doesn’t help when the time arrives. You’re left with a hole in your heart. A void that can never be filled. Following her passing on Sunday, my mom and I sat on a swing in the backyard of my aunt and uncle’s house. We were talking about what to wear to the funeral-black wasn’t her style. You see, my grandmother was not one who went by the book- she created her own path. And she loved leopard print clothing. Just as we began talking about wearing leopard print to the services, suddenly about a dozen butterflies fluttered in the air. Most flew away around the yard, except for one. Directly in front of us, this butterfly happily danced in the air. It flew back and forth so quickly as if it was trying to get our attention. Then it landed right between us revealing it’s leopard print wings. We instantly knew it was her. The butterfly twirled around us as we called my aunts and cousin to come outside. I’ve never seen a butterfly dance so happily in my entire life. Then, the butterfly landed directly on my mom’s heart. It sat there for at least a minute. Over the course of an hour this butterfly fluttered closely within our circle. She flew over to my aunt, landing on her head…and stayed there for about three minutes. Then over to my cousin, and sat on her knee. She danced over and tapped my aunt’s shoulder and then bounced back landing in front of us. It took turns looking directly at us. I’ve never witness anything so moving. So beautiful. That was Gram. Beautiful.

It gives me a sense of peace to know she is still with us. To know that she is still able to light up a room with her loving energy-even without her physical body present. And while we will all miss giving her a hug and kiss, hearing her laugh, and telling us to fix our hair and put on our lipstick… we can breath a little easier knowing that she actually still is here. We can feel it through the love we share in our family, a bond she created… because we were first loved by her.

Rest is peace my sweet, loving Grandma…Heaven just got a little brighter…

With Love,
Tiffany