Grandma Marian Schei

She is "Grandma" to Kyle and I and "Great Grandma" to our daughter, Katie. She is "Mom" to Daryle, Loren and Barb, Aunt to their cousins and a sister to many - I believe Grandma had 7 sisters! Close to two years ago, Grandma was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. At the point that we realized chemo was no longer an option, she was given a prognosis of 2-6 months - that was before I gave birth to Katie in September of 2004; before the need for round-the-clock care had been discovered; before the wonderful memories that we now share had been created.

Marian Schei spent most of her life growing up a farm girl in a rural town in North Dakota. Someone once said to me that there are two kinds of beauty - the beauty of a diamond and the beauty of wheat. Marian Schei is the beauty of wheat. She 'gets it'. Her wit and keen sense of humor have outlasted her physical health... just yesturday we sat with her in her hospital room. I sat to her right while she kept conversation with Katie and Kyle on the left. At one moment, Kyle had put Katie down and as Katie rounded the end of the bed towards me, Grandma - having just taken a sip of juice - let out a rather generous belch. Katie paused... looked up at me with her mouth closed but laugh lines appearing... she then began to giggle and point at Great Grandma saying, 'burrr!' I announced to Grandma that Katie had heard her and that she was teaching our children bad manners. Without missing a beat, Grandma said to me that she had assumed that had already happened and this shouldn't be much of a surprise. Kyle and I laughed and Grandma proceeded to burp, not once, but a handful more times. She claimed she felt much better afterwards.

None of us know if this will be a couple more days or a couple more weeks. As we left yesturday, we gave kisses and hugs without the ability to predict whether or not we would see her again.
I wait by my phone, as I'm sure my husband does while he's at work and as I'm sure everyone in the family is doing at this very minute. I spend my time praying for her comfort and her ability to emotionally handle what lies ahead. I beg God to reveal Himself to her and reveal to her the importance of her time here over the last 81 years. May she be able to accept the love we all have for her - and the love that has so strongly been established between she and her great granddaughter. May it bring her solace to know that the son Kyle and I are about to have will be a 'Schei' for the rest of his life - and will carry that name with dignity.

God bless you, Grandma.