This is supposed to be about parents, but I want to post about my grandmother, and you'll have to forgive me for that. I think it's something like the third time I've brought her up on Hubski, and I'm sorry if it looks like I'm fishing for sympathy, but today was another day of going through old possessions, looking at pictures from years ago, and just being with my family.

One of the things I elected to take was a small brass bracelet my grandfather, Michael, gave to her before he left for WWII. It has a series of interlocking parts similar to this, except the way it's shaped, it looks like a double-helix wrought into two dimensions. The centerpiece is a heart with a cursive P (for Phyllis) inscribed in it. A few years ago, I found the bracelet in a desk drawer that hadn't been opened in a long time. The band of the bracelet was broken, and I spent an afternoon trying to fix it. Eventually, I got it into a wearable state, and presented it to her. She recognized it immediately, thanked me, and teared up a little. She wore it for the rest of the day, but after that, I never saw it on her wrist again--My grandparents' marriage was strenuous after the war, and I think it brought back some of those memories. Anyways, I knew she was grateful, and I just remember it being a small moment that we shared. I'll try to upload a picture of the bracelet tomorrow.

She has Parkinson's, and her mind is gone. She can tell who's with her, but she doesn't remember deaths or births--she keeps asking for Michael, but only my aunt so far has told her that he died a long time ago. Before I was born, anyways.

Again, sorry if I'm laying too much out here, but it's cathartic to type all of this out. Thanks for all the advice in the thread the other day.