Just as I was settling down into my new college experience, getting accustomed to this new campus lifestyle, I have been thrown a curveball by the big man upstairs.  Classes were going extremely well, with very little amount of a hangover from stepping up from a 2-year school to a 4-year institution.  Then it hit me, my grandmother is in very critical condition and likely won't make it past this weekend...

My memories of my grandmother are from when she was in her late 70's and still working on her farm by herself.  My grandfather died when I was 4 in a tractor accident and Grandmomma worked the farm for the next 5 years, all on her own.  Her farm is in Culpeper, Virginia, just outside the town of Culpeper.  I always have remembered my grandmother as a very strong woman, still doing farm and yard work until she was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease, at the age of 86. 

Shortly after she was diagnosed we had her moved into an assisted living facility to better suit her needs.  This was a major emotional rollercoaster in my life because of the shock that I experienced when my eye's were finally opened to the condition she was in and knowing that she would never be the same strong individual that I had known my entire life. 

Now this shock has been taken to the extreme.  Knowing that in a few short days, likely, she will no longer be with us.  This brings into retrospect everything that I have experienced over the past few months, weeks, and days.  Life had been going on steadily and progressively, with highs and lows, goods and bads.  Then you realize that there are just some things you can't control and you just have to react to.  Like the loss of a loved one.

How we react really defines our outlook on life, and the way in which we view the world.  This view can be changed by by events in our life, but it is our overall attitude in life that can sway the outlook one way or another.  There's no way of knowing how I will react when the official word is given.  I can only hope that my attitude on life can help me stay consistent, as I always have.