She was a stay at home grandma who enjoyed cooking meals for everyone

 And who cleaned everything until it was spotless

She brightened up any room with her smile

And her jokes made you laugh until your stomach hurt and you couldn't breathe Saturday mornings she would make me blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs served with fresh orange juice

And in the summer she would scoop watermelon like ice cream and make the sweetest lemonade 

I would pick tomatoes from her garden in the summer 

And peaches from her tree in the spring

We would go out for ice cream on hot, humid nights

And watch the lightning strike on rainy ones

She loved to watch me dive into the pool 

and climb the trees in her front yard

She would watch my sister and I build snowmen and igloos with her neighbors

And then warm us up next to the fire place with a cup of hot cocoa

Summers with her were my favorite time of the year

Nana had a house in Kissimmee, Florida 

And every summer we stayed there for two weeks

But once school started, it wasn't the same 

We wouldn't have time to see her during the week as much

And the weeks would drag on until we saw her again 

As I began to grow up, time with Nana took a turn 

I didn't see Nana as much as I should have

I began to hang out with new friends that I made at school

And I started to participate in sports over the weekend

I would call Nana everyday to see how she was doing and ask her how her day was

But I only visited her when I had the time to, which was not too often

Several summers flew by 

But this summer was different

We didn't go to Florida for vacation 

Or see Nana as much

I was a sophomore in high school 

And I was struggling to fit into a new school with people I didn't know

I was told Nana had stage 3 cervical cancer 

I thought the world was crashing down on me

And I didn't know what to believe

I felt as if I had been struck by lightning 

Or as if someone ripped my heart out

The following months I would visit Nana everyday 

One day, she asked me to cut her hair off because she said she would lose it anyways

Another time, she asked me to paint her nails and toes because she was too weak and shaky to do them herself 

Anything she asked me to do, I did it

Eventually Nana wasn't able to do much

She would spend most of her time at U Mass Hospital 

And the other time in her bed

Over time she kept up with her chemo treatment and got better

But a few weeks later she was diagnosed with brain cancer, having two golf ball sized tumors

It wasn’t long until she lost her memory

It killed me to see her like this

And not know who her granddaughters are

I knew her time was coming to an end

But I still  prayed to God each night for Nana to survive all of this torture

I knew she was a fighter and didn’t deserve any of this

But God knew that if she were to stay alive, she would only suffer more

My grandmother was a women whom I looked up to. She was a constant, always there whenever I needed something. She taught me how to become a responsible young lady, and loved me more than any grandma loved her first granddaughter. When she became sick, she taught me to enjoy my life to the fullest and to be grateful for everything that I have. As I embark on my journey, I intend to carry gratitude from my grandmother. With this quality, I am able to be more resilient, open to new relationships, achieve more, be more spiritual, and overall be a happier person.