Aloha

Today my grandma said her final Aloha and took her last breath. I can’t seem to grasp that it’s real. I mean all my life, she’s been there. It’s a very sad thing but she had a very full, long life.

I have so much in me from her but here are a few loves: Hawaii, sun bathing, blackout curtains, coffee, lox/bagels, staying up late, prepping a table for my guests, and trying different culture’s foods. I got her dark hair, long eyelashes, and olive skin (sadly Jew chin hairs too). I was obsessed with looking at pictures of her from when she was younger and was so happy if anyone said I looked like her when she was young… she was gorgeous.

I’m determined to have a stocked candy jar when I’m a Grandma- I’ll make sure it looks fancy- like something out of a castle. She wrapped a gift so tight it became coined “Rapport Wrapping” in our family. It was worth all the hard work to open it though because you knew it was gonna be something that you really wanted inside.She always swatted us all on the bums and made sure to kiss us each time we greeted hello and goodbye. She was so funny and had a great laugh. She was stubborn and sassy. She’s let us make a huge mess in her closet dressing up in her clothes & heels, using her makeup, nail polish and of course her big powder puff after the bath. To think of all she’s seen in the last 98.5 years?! From terrible wars to the iPhone. She was a first generation American to two Russian Jews. They both crossed the Atlantic ocean as kids on boats, came through Ellis Island, and met in New York. She met my cute Poppa in the Bronx and they got married. Her mom passed away when she was young but that didn’t stop her from learning how to be Mom to four, Grandma to ten, and GGMay to eighteen. She was a mom till the end- huge heart. She loved every one of her kids- including all the foster girls in and out. She even stayed up all night stressing while my cousin’s wife was delivering their twins at the beginning of this month. She literally had a dream she was delivering them just to help out my cousin’s wife. She was laughing when she told us about it. She could be heard bragging at all times about any of her family members, ready to put up a fight if needed. You could count on her to be thinking about the in’s and out’s of all her kids lives. Her mind was so clear for a 98 year old, a little crazy at times, but remembering things from long ago. Just a blessed life.She spent her last days surrounded by her beloved family and caretakers. She was sung over and reminded about who she is to us. Such a special slice of the image of God was in this one. She passed so peacefully with her special caretaker (and new “cousin” to us) Mona, her only daughter and our Poppa’s original sweet girl, and my parents by her side.