goodnight sweet grandma, may you rest in peace

This photo was taken at her 101st birthday this year. She still had that little spark in her eyes that I loved so much. Tonight, she passed away.
I am so thankful for every moment I got to share with her.
She was the oldest of eight children, grew up in a two bedroom farmhouse in the prairies, and has outlived everyone in her family.
She  met my grandpa at a wedding, and she said she knew instantly that she loved him. He asked her out that night and they were by each other's side for over 50 years until he passed away at the age of 80. She never anticipated outliving him by 21 years and told me how often her heart ached for him.
Their only child was my mother.
My grandma rode to school on horseback, lived through the depression, wars, cooked for a family of 7 three times a day to make ends meet, owned a bakery, and saw more changes in her lifetime than I will ever witness. She was the kind of woman that always invited people throughout her neighbourhood over for a meal or a cup of tea. If someone didn't have a place to go for Christmas, they would always be welcome at her table.
She was my home away from home. She taught my brother and I how to play crib, darts and pool, let us stay up late to watch shows like the Love Boat or Carole Burnett, gave us hot bowls of oatmeal for breakfast and had the most amazing homemade bread. She had an incredible vegetable garden and didn't mind that we used to sit in it and eat our way out of it. I used to love making cookies with her or listening to her sing.
She was the quintessential grandma - always baking, always hugging, always sharing funny stories about antics my brother and I got into growing up. I have three things of hers that represent her in a nutshell to me: her ruby ring (her name was Ruby), her cookie jar and a quilt she made my daughter.
Through my grandma's deteriorating health over the last five years, my mom has transformed into an angel. My mom was by her side day in, day out, even though my grandma couldn't always recall who she was.
Some days my mom would just go and simply hold her hand for hours, just to reassure her that she was there.
Death always brings a flood of thoughts: our memories of our loved ones, our beliefs about what happens when we die, our awareness of on our own mortality. I'm just so thankful that I got to know this incredible lady so well and to have her in my life for so long. Earlier this week she looked at me and told me that she was going to be okay. I feel such reassurance from this. Goodnight sweet grandma. xo