A Personal Story

I had to write a personal story about a life experience for my English class. Now that I've gotten it back and it has been graded I figured I'd share it with you all. _________________________________________________ The night before seemed like a bad dream; I felt like today was a new day and my prayers would be answered. I grabbed my growing belly, the life inside was my son. I knew I had to make a phone call, so I reached for my phone, only to see I had missed a few calls and there was a voicemail. I braced myself with hope, hoping my prayers, my baby, would be enough for a miracle. I listened, my heart dropped along with the phone, as my body collapsed back on the bed and a scream exited my mouth, then another, and another. Tears streamed down my face, soaking my pillow. As my body began to tire, my screams turned into whimpers, as the tears continued to flow. I had lost my second mother, my grandma was gone and I felt empty inside. I said to myself, “Pull yourself together, you have business to handle.” I lifted myself up and waddled to my daughter’s room, she was still sleeping. There was so much I needed to do; call my doctor’s office for flight clearance, since I was eight months pregnant, change my daughter’s existing flight to Florida to leave a week earlier, and lastly, book my own flight to Seattle. Sweat suit on, flip flops on, bag in hand. Security, “Ma’am, you have been selected for a “random” security search; please step over here.” “Okay, she’s good, but her flight is boarding, call them to hold the plane.” “Ma’am, I will walk you to your flight, you won’t miss it.” “Hold the door, you have one more, we had her held up at security!” As I waddled my way to my seat, all eyes were on me. Flight attendant, “Good evening and welcome to JetBlue Airlines, flight to Seattle.” And so, it had begun my journey to bury a piece of my heart six feet below, forever. Returning home to bury my grandmother, felt surreal; I felt numb, it was almost like my mind was in another place. I existed only as a shell of myself, going through the motions as those around me made funeral arraignments. At the funeral, I was just there, frozen. I did not cry; I did not speak; I just existed. As they lowered my grandmother into the hollow ground a piece of my heart left with her and now I finally had an answer to my question, “How would I feel if I ever lost her?” The answer was alone. One week later, I returned back to my home in New Jersey. Just six days after returning home from burying my grandmother, my son was born. The night before she died, I pleaded through the phone for my grandmother to live, so she could meet her first great grandson. As I looked down at my beautiful baby boy, I thought about how my grandmother never got to meet him, even though this saddened me, I felt as though I had been given a second heartbeat to help make up for the piece I lost, when my grandmother died. “The rose sheds its petals as it begins to die; as they fall to the earth, they become one. Soon a new rose blooms again, it has been reborn.”