BeeBee
The night of January 27, 2012 is the night that everything changed. What do you do when glue of the family is gone? When the person that keeps a family together is suddenly just gone. A family that is already scattered in different places from Wisconsin to Ohio to Pittsburgh and more. A family that didn’t get the chance to say a proper goodbye to you.
My grandma’s name was Beatrice but we all called her BeeBee. A nickname that came long before I was born. My grandma on dad’s side died all alone in her house on Friday the 27th of 2012. I will never forget that night. The phone rang during dinner. It was one of her neighbors asking for dad saying she hasn’t seen BeeBee in a few days and mail was piling up. A feeling of dread came over all of us knowing something was seriously wrong. We all suspected the worst but no one said anything out loud till dad called confirming what we already knew. Dad found her lying on the kitchen floor after falling and hitting her head on the kitchen counter.
BeeBee was the glue that kept dad’s scattered family together. From coming to Pittsburgh for visits, to taking family beach vacations, to birthday parties and getting together every Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house in Cleveland Ohio. But after she passed away and us grandkids got older the only time it seems when all of us get together now is when cousin gets married or getting together with a few family members whenever my one uncle comes to Pittsburgh for work.
My grandma BeeBee was a very prim and proper person. She always had her hair in a bun with a bow keeping her hair perfectly in place and wearing pearl earrings. Called food that was bad for you or sweet or fatty “poison” that will kill you. She loved knowledge, reading and learning new things. She was always encouraging us grandkids to read, to constantly questions, be curious and learn new things whenever possible. So today she is a big reason for my love of reading and keeping an open mind to new experiences.