Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me

My paternal grandma passed away Sept 1.

That's pretty much why I've been absent from this here blog (not that I update very frequently in general, I know). With grandma's death went my writing mojo. Wow, could I BE more selfish with my white girl problems about "ooh, I've got writer's block now that my grandma died!"

My grandma got a major stroke about nine months after the death of my dad (back in Nov 1993), her firstborn. She never spoke of dad; she simply couldn't.

In spite of losing both her firstborn and her husband in quick succession (under the horrid circumstances of a bloody civil war in what used to be Fmr Yugoslavia), and after 15 years of illness most recently being diagnosed with motor neuron disease, grandma was ALWAYS a fighter, always brave and always inspirational.

I am, and forever will be, so proud of her, and in awe of her strength, dignity, grace and unquenchable spirit. There is so much to say about her and yet not enough.

RIP, grandma, we love you. We'll miss you more than even we realise right now.