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THE WIND PHONE

Death Caught Me Off Guard

But isn’t that how it always goes?

Renata Ellera Gomes
The Wind Phone
Published in
5 min readDec 5, 2024

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A younger woman pushes an old woman in a wheelchair on a field.
Photo by Dominik Lange on Unsplash

No matter how ill you know someone is or how frail they looked when you visited them last, that out-of-the-blue phone call never fails to steal the ground from under your feet.

“I thought she had more time,” you think. And then you realize, selfishly, that you thought you had more time. To let her know you love her. To say goodbye. To share one last memory that will stay with you forever.

When mom called to say Grandma had passed, I couldn’t believe my ears. When my boyfriend came over after the funeral, that was exactly what I told him as I sobbed into his arms, “I can’t believe she’s gone.”

Losing your last grandparent is like a gut punch. It’s a milestone from which there’s no turning back. Every death reminds us of our mortality, but with this one, the circle of life is just shoved onto your face unceremoniously. I no longer have grandparents. My parents are aging; their hair is white. They’re next. And after my parents, there’s me.

It’s no wonder I didn’t want to believe it.

Grandma had been ill for months, and we knew it was coming. My mother was taking care of her. I helped with little things here and there, including ordering supplemental vitamins she had to…

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The Wind Phone
The Wind Phone

Published in The Wind Phone

Loss, sadness, and transition is hard. Pick up the pieces and get creative. Death, near-death, divorce, loss, transitions, graveyard, cemetery, urn plans, complicated grief, hospice care, all issues related to end of life. Not accepting letters to deceased or poetry.

Renata Ellera Gomes
Renata Ellera Gomes

Written by Renata Ellera Gomes

Writing about love, relationships, culture, and life in general. Get my book, Acid Sugar, at shorturl.at/hvAVX

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