08.28.04. Three words changed my life.
Seven years ago, 10:23am CT. UT-Austin Jester West dorm. I woke up and saw my roommate was still out. I was feeling great. I was going to get up, shower, get breakfast and hang with my friends. But 10:26am CT, my phone rang. My cousin was asking if I was up…how was I doing…then said: “She’s gone, man.”
My grandmother succumbed to lung cancer, that had spread to her brain and her bones. How did I take it? Let’s just say I threw the phone across the room. After a couple of minutes, I pulled myself together. My mother was going to need me so I needed to be strong for her and my little brother and sister. Packed and made the 3 hour trip back to Houston.
To this day, I still haven’t completely mourned. I hear her voice, her laughter. I can still smell her. I still wait to hear that surprise knock on the door, to see that 1995 blue Dodge Dynasty pull in the driveway 3 days before Christmas filled with gifts and food, to wake up to the smell of Thanksgiving dinner creeping from the kitchen to the my room.
I left for school. The last thing I ever said to her was “See you later, granny.” The call came a week later.
I miss you.
