The Last Hug  Click on button to play music. I said, "Say good-bye to grandma," and in my stomach, I felt a knot... "and give her a very special hug that shows you love her a lot." I reminded her, "be gentle... she isn't feeling well today," and I let them have their moment as I slowly backed away. She welcomed my child's embrace; her weakened arms held open wide. I had to walk in the other room and it was there, I knelt and cried. I knew we were sharing the same fear as reality began to unfurl; we both knew this could be the last time that she would hold my little girl. There was something different in this hug; as if my young daughter had a sense, of the importance of that moment and its true significance. In my mind, there is a memory; an image unlike any other of watching my daughter share this love with her daddy's gracious mother. I wondered how she understood the special reasons why, as she laid her head on grandma's shoulder and precious minutes passed us by. Thinking back now, I remember those feelings when we had to leave... because indeed, that was the last hug from her, my daughter would receive. And although she's gone, she's not forgotten, for I see within my child... the warmth and love that we all felt every time that woman smiled. We all must face the inevitable, but I can't help but wish it so, that she was still a part of my child's life, and still here to watch her grow. But I will speak of her special ways and make my daughter understand that in the word "grandmother," she exemplified the "grand." So every time you leave a loved one, remember the present becomes the past, and make that hug a special one... for it could be the very last.

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