My maternal grandmother waited until her children were married and had children of their own before she left my grandfather. I'm sure it was a long wait for her.
Grandma went to nursing school. She got her license, and cared for newborn infants in the hospital nursery until her hands got too bad to work with tiny bodies.
When she could no longer work with the newly-arrived, she nursed the soon-to-be departed.
She worked in her 50s and 60s as a live-in nurse for seniors preparing to move to the next plane of existence. She lived and worked in southeastern Michigan, near her children and grandchildren.
When her mother was ready for some company and caregiving, my grandmother moved back to Drummond Island to take care of her own.
Today I'm wondering if Grandma knew she would be the primary caregiver for Great-Grandma Tillie and that's why she got a nursing degree. My grandmother was the eldest daughter, and single, and remained single until she passed on in 1987 at 85 years old.
I wonder if she thought about what her future might hold when she was 47, and a nursing student, recently divorced. I wonder if she planned on the training, knowing she would care for her mother at the end of her life.
My great-grandmother Mariah, lived until she was 93 years old. The picture shown is at her home on Drummond Island in the summer before her birthday in 1969.
Isn't she beautiful?
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