Grace

I traveled to Arizona for Christmas and stayed at my aunt's place in Cave Creek. She has 110 acres there with 5 houses on it and takes care of a 103 year-old woman- Grace Frederick (formerly Voss).

I've known Grace for 25 years. When I first met her (in her 80s), Grace was full of life and stories and humor. She was a Broadway star and literally the first woman ever broadcast on television. I recall being so in awe of her when I was a child. During more recent years, her mind began to decline. She could still remember her stories & her wit and personality were there, but she had trouble with names and faces.

I recall the last time I saw Grace. It was the night before I flew back and we were sitting around a table, talking. Grace was joking with me about my (lack of) love life. It was a bit heart-rending, but she asked my name 6 times in that conversation. When she had to leave, she took my hand and I was impressed at how strong her grip was.

Grace suffered a major stroke the Sunday after I left. Although she still had her faculties (as they were), she was moved into a hospice as her prognosis was "only a matter of days". Last Thursday night, I was online and checked my bank account and was very surprised to see a deposit- a sizable deposit. I called my parents (my mother had extended her stay in AZ after Grace's stroke and my father flown back), and they told me Grace had them put the money in. I was... stunned... to say the least- that she would think of me at all, much less in her situation. As she could not receive calls (and it was past 11pm in AZ), I wrote Grace a "get well"/ "thank you" card before I went to bed and I mailed it out Friday afternoon while doing some errands. A little before 7 Friday night, my mother called to say Grace passed away a few hours earlier- about the same time I had mailed her card.

Saturday afternoon, I excused myself from the yard sale I was hosting and called my mother and my aunt. I expressed my condolences and said a few words to my aunt about what a great woman Grace had been. After we hung up, I cried quietly in my kitchen for a moment or so- the first time I have done so for quite a while.
I have not slept since the news of her passing. Although the biological need may soon overtake, I find myself disinterested in sleep. When I close my eyes, all I can think of is Grace's hand grasping mine so firmly.

www.zebramotionarts.com/portfolio/commercial/grace.html
(Grace from 10 years ago)