Diary of a Heart Mom: In Memory of: Betty Ann Mann

In Loving Memory: Betty Ann Mann, 4/15/35-12/22/09
July 2009- My Granny was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer and was given 3 months to live. She survived for 5 months...enough to give us one last Thanksgiving with our family and to know that I was baptized on Nov. 22. When I went to see her for Thanksgiving, I told her I had just been baptized a week prior...she was very happy. And although at that time, she didn't nor did I know that Dan and I would soon be engaged a few months later. Yet she made it a point to tell me that she liked Dan and she knew he would take care of me. She even left me a couple of cookbooks with notes written in them for "Couple's Cooking"...now how did this lady know that Dan and I would still be together? :) That lady was mysterious...but I believe she knew Dan and I would be married, I don't know how but she did. Exactly 1 month after her passing, Dan asked me to be his wife. It was all surely meant to be :) Now onto the hard stuff, watching my Grandmother pass away slowly and painfully was extremely hard! It was emotionally and physically draining. I was trying to go to school full time and having a rough time with a teacher that later failed me and now is the sole reason I didn't graduate this past May. At the same time, things in my personal life were chaotic, I got in an accident and broke my right collarbone, I was working, and I was seeing my Grandmother 1 to 2 times a week. Towards the end, it got really draining. Family was coming in and out of the house so much because everyone that was family was in coming into town to say their goodbyes and EVERYBODY wanted to be there when she was going to pass. I must say that were several close calls and some false alarms. But each time I'd get a call saying "Hurry come over, she's not doing good"....I dropped whatever I was doing whether I was asleep, busy, working on a final, anything....and I went straight over to her house. Finally, early in the morning on Dec. 22, I got 1 false alarm...headed over WAY early in the morning, get there, and she is doing okay. Wait a little while...she's doing okay, so I go back home to go to bed. Get a few hours of sleep, get a phone call, and all I can hear is everyone crying....my heart dropped to my stomach, I just said "I'll be over". I got back up in my pj's and headed over to their house for the last time. It was so cold that day....so close to Christmas too. I walk into a solemn room filled with tears, sadness, and crying. I'd never experienced this before....nobody I knew that well ever died. My mother walked me up to her on her hospice bed, I rubbed her face and picked up her hand...bent down to her ear, said " I love you. May you be in a better place" and that was the end. The next few days were filled visitations, funeral, LOTS of crying, watching her slideshow on a dvd from the funeral....and some more crying. Never experienced a loss before and this was something definitely different that I was completely out of my element on. Anyways, below is her eulogy I gave at her funeral and some pictures I like :) This is our family's 1st Christmas without her but she will always remain in our hearts. I love and miss you Granny! Don't get into too much trouble up there! ;) Merry Christmas!!

I wanted to take a few minutes to share my memories of Granny. Something that I’ve always admired about our family is our closeness. Other than Kentucky Cousins Camp, my favorite memories are those big dinners and gatherings at Granny’s. Till this day Granny is infamous for her amazing home cooking! Times at Granny’s were always loud and fun. I remember her specifically always having chocolate filled chocolate cookies in a jar. I made sure to always ask for a cookie and when she wasn’t looking, I’d sneak a couple more J I remember always being scared of Rusty...I don’t think he liked me very much. Granny also introduced me to one of my all time favorite videos....Can’t Buy My Love. I must have watched it a 100 times at her house and till this day, there is a copy of it in my room. Finally, I’d like to say Granny was a well loved beautiful lady. She will be watching over all of us as our new guardian angel. She will remain present in our everyday lives through pictures, videos, and stories we tell our children. If I’ve never told any of you, I love each and every one of you. Despite our quarrels and disagreements, your all a part of my family and will always be.