104 Broad Street

104 Broad Street, Statesboro, GA (from Google Maps)

104 Broad Street.

That's where she has been wanting to go lots lately.  She talks about it with the caretakers at the assisted living facility.  She mentions it by the address.

Who?  My grandmother, Meemo.  Ruth.

What is 104 Broad Street?  Her childhood home in Statesboro, GA. 

She talks about going to her mother's house.  That's where she wants to go.

I got to experience this on Christmas Eve.

After dinner at my Mom's house and opening presents, it was getting late.  We have a family tradition of playing a wacky, awesome family game that my aunt Vicki in California sends each year.  She is super creative and we have lots of fun.  Meemo usually participates, but this year she was tired.  So Mom and I took her back to her place so she could go ahead and go to bed.

But it wasn't that simple.  I told her we were going to take her back to her place.  She asked what I was going to do, where I was going to stay.  I told her I was spending the night at Mom's house.  She said she didn't really want to go back to her place.  We explained that's where her bed was.  That didn't seem to matter.

We got her up and to the car.  When she first got into the car, she mentioned that she wanted to go to her Mom's house, Mamo's (Memo) house.  I explained that Mamo (Memo) doesn't live there anymore.  She said it was still Mamo's (Memo) house.  I said that other people live there now.  She told me we had been there earlier in the day and asked if I remembered.  I told her I didn't remember that. 

I was driving, so I prepared to back out of the driveway.  She asked if I knew how to get there.  I told her I did. 

When we got to the assisted living facility, she looked at it and didn't really want to get out of the car.  That's not where she wanted to be. 

I knew that she wanted to be at 104 Broad Street.  But what I didn't know and what I can't know is what is going through her mind.  What are the memories she is having of her childhood home and of her mother?  Are they good ones?  I hope so! 

We got her into the facility and went into the parlor before going upstairs.  We wanted to make sure the caretakers knew she was back before we left her in her room.  Mom checked on that while I sat with my grandmother.

Meemo became a little agitated for a moment and expressed that she was frustrated because she was confused.  She was trying to figure it all out.  I can only imagine how confusing that would be.... to decipher between reality, the present and the past. 

I told her to enjoy those memories of her Mom and the house.  I empathized with her frustration and told her that I loved her.  She looked at me after that and said "thank you" a couple of times.

We moved from the parlor up to her room.  The caretakers came to get her ready for bed.  I told her "Merry Christmas" and that I loved her and we left.

It's not easy to be on this journey.  To walk alongside someone with whom you no longer can fully communicate.  You have your memories.  They have theirs. 

I know it happens all the time.  Many go through this.  I cherish each and every moment I get with my grandmother and am blessed that she has been a part of my life this long. 

I wish I knew more about that house on 104 Broad Street.  What stories would it tell me? 

I wish I had written down more stories throughout the years from my grandmother and other family members. 

When it comes my time to go back to my childhood home, will it be the house I lived in on Judd Terrace, the duplex, before we moved to Lakemont Drive?  I wonder where my brain will take me?!?!

Meanwhile, my goal is to accompany my grandmother on her journey, to companion her on her way.  To be there for her.  To love her during and through this time.  My goal is to also be there for my Mom, to assist her on this journey as well. 

It's a blessed journey, bittersweet. 

Debra



NOTE-- My "Meemo" (pronounced  [mee-moh] is Ruth.  Her Mom, "Mamo" or "Memo" (pronounced [meh-moh]) was Florence Elkins.  She married a Clark.  I always knew my great grandmother by her nickname.  We share the same birthday.

Picking up Meemo from the Assisted Living Facility for Christmas Eve dinner.

Florence Elkins, aka "Mamo/Memo" by the azaleas in the yard, Statesboro, GA