As some of you may or may not yet be aware, last Wednesday (November 14, 2012) I along with the rest of my family lost a very important family member. My 83-year-old grandma passed away from a brain hemorrhage she sustained 3 days prior from a fall she took at her nursing home.
Over the past week it has been hard for me to really feel able to open up and talk about how this tragedy has affected me, but I have now come to the point where I feel willing and able to begin opening up about the loss of my beloved grandma. Having said all this I am dedicating this blog post to the memory of my late Grandma Doreen.
My grandma was the kindest and sweetest grandma anyone could have ever asked for. Grandma I will say is along with my mom one of the first people to get me interested in cooking or baking which was probably the start of my career journey as a chef. I remember as a kid whenever my family would go visit my grandparents, grandma would always have a fresh batch of homemade cinnamon buns and perogies made for our arrival. I also learned a lot about growing a successful garden and what all grows in the garden from her.
About 8 years ago when I finally moved out of my parents houses I found myself moving into my grandmas basement and adding another and somewhat different chapter to our grandma/grandson relationship as we now also were roommates so to say. I spent a little over a year living in my grandmas basement. Over this time we again came to be close, after drifting apart a little bit in the preceding years. I would do some of her grocery shopping and we would some nights cook together, and watch TV, yes I became well versed in cheap daytime soaps, and trashy daytime talk shows.
Over the last few years my grandma suffered a few falls and a few minor setbacks but such is somewhat to be expected with age. While losing her has been very hard on everyone in my family we all agree that grandma is now in a much better place where she is free from the pain and grief of aging and her latest and final fall.
Thank-you all so very much for taking the time to read this very emotional and personal post on my grandma, and how much she meant to me and how much I miss her now and forever. If you have any questions please ask away and I’ll happily do my absolute best to answer them as best I can.
I would just like to share the two final pictures of my grandma and I (one is of me, her, and my wonderful loving wife Ashley) that will ever have been taken.
Thank-you grandma for all the memories, and for being the best grandma I could have ever dreamt of. I will always love and miss you more than words could ever tell. xoxo
-Ben-
This past weekend Ashley and I went to see “Silver Linings Playbook” starring: Bradley Cooper (the Hangover), Jennifer Lawrence (the Hunger Games), and Robert DeNiro. This movie I felt was a brilliant and heartfelt look into two very different yet similar characters, and their quest for what we all want in life: a second chance, to be loved, and to be needed.
Our two main characters: Pat (Bradley Cooper), and Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), both come from two very different and dark places in life. Pat is getting a second chance at salvaging a marriage on the rocks with his wife Nikki after a stint in a mental health facility, and Tiffany is looking to restart her life after the sudden death of her husband. The film also deals with family conflict between Pat and his father Pat Sr. (Robert DeNiro) who is attempting at times to steer Pat down a path that just may not in the end fit with Pat Jr’s belief in “silver linings”.
This movie is a true gem filled with an amazing cast including Jacki Weaver, and Chris Tucker, from Director: David O. Russell (The Fighter), that will make you laugh till it hurts, and cry till you have no more tears in you. Without giving it all away I will tell you that this movie will have you cheering for an unlikeliest of heroes from beginning to end.
As well as seeing this movie this weekend I also purchased the novel by the same name from author: Matthew Quick. I began reading the book this morning on my way into work on the commuter train and almost couldn’t put it down when I got to my stop (an instant classic novel in my mind). Upon completion of the book which I hope to be sometime by the end of this upcoming weekend or early next week at the latest I will post on this blog my book review of “Silver Linings Playbook”.
I highly recommend seeing this fabulous film, and if you have the chance picking up the book, or asking for it as a Christmas gift, you will not be disappointed in either I promise you all that.
Who all has seen this film this weekend, or read the book? If you have either what did/do you think about the movie or book?
Ciao!
-Ben-
Eating, Living, Running 