I managed to catch up with my mom twice in as many days recently, which was pretty unusual. Even though we’d exchanged much family information on the first night, there was more big news on the second one.

The good news:

My cousin, who is about ten years younger than me, has recently announced she is pregnant. She and her husband had been trying to have a baby for a long time and had pretty much given up on the idea. So it’s pretty happy news for the couple.

And the not so good:

My grandmother is 89 years old and suffers from a number of health issues, including diabetes, heart problems and eye problems. In the past couple of years, her mobility has decreased considerably but she was still able to live independently. Fortunately, her mental faculties have continued to be quite sharp, in contrast to a much younger sister who suffer Alzheimer’s disease. Her vision loss is what has upset her the most as she is no longer able to read books or do her crossword puzzles. She has recently been in hospital and then rehab on several occasions for one problem after another. The latest ailment has been terrible back pain. The doctors are saying it’s arthritis even though she has never suffered this before. And apparently it cannot be treated. The upshot of all this is she is going to have to move into a home and lose much of her independence.

With all the health issues, I think it’s quite possible she won’t be around all that much longer. I certainly hate to think of her suffering such terrible pain on a daily basis. But it’s hard to think of the not-so-distant future without her in it. I’ve been pretty lucky to have her around for so much of my life. And since I most probably won’t see her again, I’m glad I was able to visit her this time last year when she still had some mobility and was living independently. For now, I just hope that she doesn’t have to spend the last of her life in pain and discomfort.