Doris Mae Meets Maelee.

God gives us glimpses of what heaven is like in the Bible, but I feel it is too great, too grand, too supernatural for us to really understand it while we are living on earth. I do know it's a place where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more death (Revelation 21:4). There is no more sin getting in the way of our rightness with God. Oh it is a glorious place.

And now my Grandma is there. She passed away last night. Her mind is no longer lost. She is found, she is known by Jesus, she is whole. She met my daughter, I assume. Maybe she's even holding Maelee now.

We got the Mae in Maelee's name from my Grandma Doris Mae. My Aunt had them sign their names on this for Maelee's Name Book, and I recall her saying the Alzheimer's had affected her so badly she could barely remember how to make a "M." But I'm so glad for this piece, this treasure. And it's hard to believe that this was done in 2010 for their great granddaughter and now less than two years later, they have both joined her in heaven.

I will miss my grandmother. I am so thankful for her life, that I am a part of her heritage. I am grateful that I still have things that remind me of her and memories to cherish... here's just a few off the top of my head:

• Buns. I would love one of her homemade buns right now. Or some flatbread in perfect little buttery rectangles. Oh so delicious. Really she was a stellar woman in the kitchen. Stellar. 
• My grandmother could quilt like nobody's business. Growing up I just connected quilts = Grandma. And even to this day, every time I see a thimble I think of her! 
• If I see a Herberger's store or their logo, I automatically think of her. She worked at this midwestern department store for many years . Sometimes I felt like I was shopping with the store's owner when we went in there with her...she knew everyone and everything and had a fancy gold card she used to buy stuff. Elite. 
• Because of said employment, my Grandma had a crazy amount of perfume. Like crazy. If I smell Elizabeth Arden Red Door, I'd think she was near. She also gave me tons of bottles of Sunflower perfume. She really was a good smelling lady! And classy. So classy.
• Snowbabies. Towards her later years, we bought those things for her for every occasion. And now I look at them and they seem a little odd... little baby/kid type figurines frolicking in the snow. Just sayin'... maybe we should have gotten her something better! 
• Mauve. I've said this before but mauve and peach hues remind me of her. I fondly remember those colors permeating her living room. 
• Because I was the "baby" girl granddaughter, I'm pretty sure she thought I was special. I know she always made me feel loved.  
• When I was around 10, my mom and my grandparents drove from ND to Washington state to visit family. That's a long drive. And I'll always remember my grandma doing this smacking thing with her mouth and saying she felt like peaches. My mom and I joked about that for many years and it still makes me smile.  

I'll miss you, Grandma. Whatever heaven is like, I know it's filled with Glory and it's perfect. I can't wait to see you again.

-Heather

You can read my grandmother's obituary here.