A Fond Farewell

It has taken me awhile to find the right words to write this post. This is dedicated to my grandmother Claudivna Zherebnenko that passed away on 9/11/2010. Although she has been yearning to be with her husband my grandfather who passed away 10 years ago. The family still selfishly wanted her to live on with us for as long as we would have her. She was the last surviving grandparent for my siblings and I. I know this is depressing to say but we all know that death is an inevitable meets to an end of a life well lived. For some of us we do not want to think or accept this fact. Even though the family were brought together for this somber moment it was still a wonderful opportunity to see family that we have not seen in a long time and to spend time with each other. The ceremony took place in a small church in San Leandro not too far from her home at my aunts house. You knew she lead a full life by the show of presence at the ceremony in this small quiet church. Afterwards the funeral procession was directed to Livermore where she would finally be laid to rest side by side with her husband and my grandfather. The weather gave us gloomy grey cloud cover at the beginning but by the time we were ready to say our final goodbyes at the cemetery the sun shone brightly and I would like to think it was for her. I ended up learning a lot about my grandmother that I did not know and that she lead a quiet life of servitude to her husband and many children (9) and grandchildren (54). She was a strong woman, who loved to read, tell stories and cook up a storm like no other. I will always miss her and feel blessed to have shared so many wonderful memories with her as a child and as an adult.