Doris "Babe" Schmitz, 1925 - 2006

Despite the gastro-intestinal after-effects, I'm very grateful tonight that I made it to Minnesota this last weekend to check in on my grandparents. I got the news tonight from my Grandfather, Harry, that his wife, my Grandmother, passed away this afternoon.

Doris, aka Babe, has been in a nursing home for nearly 2 years now and it was hard to see her in the condition that she'd ended up in -- very withdrawn deep into the recesses of her mind with very little communication and just occasional moments of clarity. However, one of those moments came when I was leaving to catch my plane, and I blew her a kiss, which she surprisingly returned.

Here's a video I took with my digital camera this weekend at the nursing home's Christmas party, which starts with the annoying, red-sequined singer but ends up focused on Harry singing along to the love of his life.



My Grandparents have been very important to my life, as they took me in at a time when I was very lost, and they were instrumental in getting me through college and helping me to become the man I am today. I'll miss her a lot (though, truth be told, I've been missing her for some years now, as Alzheimer's has slowly crept in), and I hope my Grandfather can keep going without her.

Don't know what my schedule will be, as I'll be turning around to head back to Minnesota, but things will most likely be light around here for the next week.