Grandma Carmen

My beloved grandmother, Maria del Carmen Arango Ramirez, passed away on May 31 at the age of 89. She enjoyed 72 years of marriage to my 96-year old grandfather and was the matriarch of a large family who all agreed on one thing: every single member simply adored her. She conceived 13 children, who in turn had 22 grandchildren and, thus far, 17 great grandchildren (Daniel, the newest member, was born two days ago!).

We grew up living with Grandma, so in every sense she was a second mother to me. I had the honor of being by her side when she died. I spent 10 days in NJ with my family, learning to live without her. I'm back on St. Croix now and the realization that she is gone hasn't begun to sink in. Everything feels surreal. And yet, she lives in the spirit world, and she's visited my dreams smiling, hands on my shoulders, telling me she's happy and everything's alright. And so it is.