The Atkins Family: Grandma Atkins

Daniel's grandmother, Jane Atkins, passed away in late October. He received a text from his father early Friday morning that grandma was in the hospital. Things were not looking good, and We were told to prepare ourselves to say goodbye. He went to work that morning and returned home ready to pack and hit the road. Earlier that day, I decided to go with him. Looking at plane tickets was like a slap in the face- So expensive and not worth the headache. The whole morning I was busy cleaning and packing and getting the girls ready. We hit the road at 8pm and hoped to make it by 8 am the next morning. I was worried about driving with the two older girls and stopping to have to feed Adeline in the middle of the night. The great thing is that Adeline used to only wake once a night to nurse(now it's been multiple times). Sad face. Anyway, we made it to jville around 8 and pulled into mom and dads house. We decided to stay at Richard and Cherie's so the girls can play with their cousins. That was a Saturday and Daniel's grandmother passed away on Tuesday morning at 12:06am. The visitation was set for Friday and the funeral on Saturday.

I had the privilege of meeting his sweet grandmother about 10 years ago before her Alzheimer's got worse. I remember going to her home in jville and chatting with her about the pond in her backyard, her home, and her artwork. Jane was an amazing artist. I only dreamed as a child/teenager to have that kind of talent. To see her artwork all over her house was really amazing and I could have spent hours talking to her about what each meant and how she went about putting it on canvas. As Jane's Alzheimer's grew worse, she still held that beautiful, kind and caring attitude. She was just a good positive person. She will be missed greatly.

We had a great visit with family. As sad as the circumstances were- it was also a great blessing to be with those we loved. Her passing brought us closer to together as a family. Fortunately, many if not all of her grandchildren and children were there for the funeral. It was a sad day but we know that she has greeted her husband on the other side. What a beautiful reunion that must have been.