Left Bereft - A Sad Story Of My Grandfather's Passing

Bereft. Since my grandpa passed away, a month ago, this word keeps rolling around my mind. My grandmother didn’t take his passing very well, I think she thought she would be the first to go (as morbid as this sounds, it was her reality). My grandpa was 76 years old when he left this world, for his age he was a picture of good health. He had healthy habits and kept his mind as well as his body active daily. So, when we got the news that he was diagnosed with cancer and would only have a few weeks to live, we were all very shocked. In fact, I still can’t make sense of it all. 

This was my grandfather a few months before his passing:

My grandparents live in the same town as my parents, I live in a larger city that’s a 3-hour drive away. My mom and dad were the ones that helped my gran get my grandfather to the hospital, helped care for him and were next to him when he passed peacefully in his sleep. I’m very thankful to them for that.  

Saying goodbye was hard. But he lived a good and long life. He had many accomplishments and he left behind a large family who are (mostly) good people, hard workers and an asset to the world – what more can you offer really?  

What broke my heart is how his death has affected my gran, within days she became smaller, lost in herself. When I ask her how she is, all she says is: BEREFT. But that says it all really. 

The Oxford dictionary defines bereft as: sad and lonely.  

This is them on their 50th Wedding Anniversary

On the day of their anniversary my grandpa left my gran the following message on Facebook:

>/"To my wife, 50 years ago this day two young people stood in a little church full of azalea flowers of all colours doing our wedding vows. So today I say congrats to my wife and may we have many more years together. God bless."

They were married for FIFTY YEARS, fifty years of living with each other, relying on each other, accompanying each other – loving each other. How do you move on after losing your someone who was your life? How do you walk through the rooms of your home knowing they are not there, sit down to a meal alone, climb into bed, alone? How does one overcome this and move on?

 

So yes, while I miss my grandpa, I rejoice knowing he is at peace. He will be missed, but he has left a lifetime of memories for us to cherish. He went at the time that was right for him. He didn’t suffer, he didn’t await death, it was sudden. But the aftermath is the hardest part, the very sad part. I mourn mostly for my gran, who is old and frail herself, how must she be expected to deal with this? 

She is bereft.