Little connections

Back on August 3rd I took an afternoon trip with Greg, Ian, and Alex down to Bloomington to visit our friend Isha. She showed us around her hometown and we stopped to visit her famous grandma, Pat Lucas. She has always gushed about how awesome her grandma is, and I think we all realized pretty quickly that it was true. Pat was very sweet and funny, and it was obvious she has a big heart. She worked with the homeless for about 30 to 40 years and did everything she could to help people.

It was fascinating to see how alike she and Isha are. In fact, it came up when Ian laughed at something – Ian has a rather boisterous laugh – that she really liked his laugh, and it made her laugh. She said that I have very caring eyes. These are both things that Isha has said about us. It is one thing to hear something like that from a friend, but from someone you have just met, well I guess that is a pretty good confirmation. I do not think there was any coaching, telling her things to say about us. :)

In 2000, Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. The family thought the cancer was gone, but recently it came out that it had not gone away. Pat had kept it a secret because she did not want people worrying. I do not really know many details, but from some things she said while we were there, it seemed she was trying to get things “in order” for when she passed. Despite that, she seemed in good spirits and decent health; I would not have guessed she was sick if I did not know otherwise. On August 8th she was at her grandson's (Isha's brother) wedding. Yesterday, August 14th, she passed away.

The timing seems so interesting to me. I am really glad I was able to meet her, if only briefly, and I am glad she was able to be at the wedding. Enjoy your loved ones and the little connections you make with others' loved ones.

Isha and her grandma Pat Lucas at the wedding August 8, 2008