The Last Gift

Yesterday marked the start of the annual Trails West Festival in St. Joseph, MO.  Every year at this time I am reminded of a gift, the last gift I ever gave to my beloved Gammy... A gift I didn't even pay for.

We moved to St. Joe in August of 2010.  We had been here around 3 weeks when Trails West began, so we loaded up the kids and headed down to check it out.  They have live music, activities for the kids, arts and crafts booths, and food vendors galore.  We started with the stuff for the kiddos.  It was hot, as it usually is in August.  They had a blast making crafts, playing with giant bubbles, watching magicians, etc.

I wanted to walk through the booths, so we headed to that area of the park.  As I was walking through I saw a lady who was selling her fused glass creations.  After working to restore stained glass, I have always been interested in glass work, so I stopped to browse.  She had a little basket with iridescent glass stud earrings.  My first thought was of Gammy.  She always loved iridescent things.  She often commented about the beautiful colors they would pick up.

While we shopped and enjoyed our day, Gammy was back home, 4 hours away, fighting cancer.  She had been diagnosed in May, I think. It had only been 4 months, but from the reports my mom was giving me, it wasn't looking good.  My dad had just told me that I would be shocked when I saw her. It wasn't long until we were headed down there for a visit, but I worried about her and prayed for her recovery.

As I looked over several pairs of the earrings, I wanted to buy a pair for Gammy.  We had just bought a house, moved to a new town and got kids started in school- an expensive time for any family, especially with 3 kids on one income!  So, I decided against making the purchase and put the delicate studs down.  

Just as I was going to walk away, the artist stopped me.  "Didn't you find any you liked?"  I told her I was just browsing, and they made me think of my grandma.  I told her how she loved earrings like that and how she had just gotten her ears pierced not many years before.  Then I told her that they were probably not practical since she is in bed most days fighting cancer.

At that point, the artist said, "Pick a pair.  They are my gift to you and your grandma.  Tell her to stay strong and beautiful."  I told her that was very kind, but she didn't need to give me a pair.  I could buy them.  But she insisted.  She put them in a little bag, thanked me for stopping in and sent best wishes to Gammy.

A couple of weeks later, I finally made the trip home.  Just like my dad had told me, I was shocked by the decline in Gammy's health.  She had always taken great pride in her appearance, worried about her "wild" hair, and dressed so pretty.  Due to the treatments, she had lost her hair and lost so much weight she didn't even look like herself.

I gave her the earrings and she said, "Oh, Bekka, how beautiful and sparkly!  Just look at those colors!"  At that moment, even though she didn't look like herself, she sounded like herself.  I told her the story of the generous artist.  Then, she asked me to help her put them on.

I gently put the earrings into her ears.  I don't think I had ever put earrings on another person.  I was certain she could pull through and beat this cancer.  I never imagined that this would be the last gift I gave her.  Gammy passed away in November that year, just 3 days after Thanksgiving.  She never took the earrings out.

I am grateful to the artist who was so kind to give me those earrings.  I may have walked away that day and never had the chance to give my Gammy another gift.  She gave me so much in her lifetime, I am thankful I had one last chance to let her know how much I thought of her, how much I loved her.