My grandpa passed away last week. I got a text from my dad around 9:30 pm that he had been notified by his sister that grandpa was declining rapidly, and that they were giving him morphine to help ease the dying process. He had been on hospice for a few months, and we weren't sure if he would last a few years or a few months. However, as I learned later, his breathing became much more labored that afternoon and then evening, and eventually, he stopped even opening his eyes.
That night, I needed to make sugar cookies for Allie's birthday the next morning, because that's what she requested instead of cake, and I knew I wouldn't have time during the day to do it. As I worked on the cookies late into the night, it felt a little like a sacred, sort of peaceful time. If it had had a soundtrack, it would have been the same one from the scene in Return to Me, where the Catholic grandpa prays for Minnie Driver all night during her heart surgery. I had intended to pray for my grandpa earlier in the night (though I think I said a brief prayer while busy baking, probably to ease his pain or help him have a peaceful passing), but I didn't finish up the cookies until late, and so I didn't make it into bed until 2:30 or 3 a.m. (1:30 or 2 am for my grandpa's time zone). So, when I was finally in bed, I said a prayer for my grandpa. I can't remember exactly what I prayed for, but I do know that I prayed for him that he would be able to be with his brother. His brother drowned when he was ten years old and my grandpa was five, and when my grandpa recounted the story a few years ago of how wrong it had felt for his brother's body to be so limp and his head jostling next to him in the wagon, he choked up--even though it happened 85 years ago. (He also felt guilt because their mother had asked them to not swim in the river.) So I always thought he would be happy when he died because he would be reunited with his older brother. Anyway, that's what I prayed for--assuming that he had already died. However, the next day I was told that he had died at 4 a.m. (so 5 a.m. my time), so I felt a little silly praying for his reunion with his brother when he was still alive. However, at the Zoom family "funeral" that Friday, my aunt told about the night of his passing, and she said at about 1:30 am, he took one final breath and passed peacefully away. So that made me feel a little closer to my grandpa. At around the time of his passing or right after it, I was praying for him.
