This is a family photo from maybe 1981 or 1982. I am the baby. That's my mom holding me. The rest of the people I don't really know, which is why it's strange that I am feeling this way. Today, I found out that my Grandmother Patty, the woman in the black and white dress to the left of the photo passed away due to an ongoing battle with cancer. I met her one other time after this photo. I think I was maybe five or six and she came to California to visit my mom and I from Virginia. This was the only visit from anyone on that side of my family to date. I remember thinking how pretty she was and didn't understand how someone so young and pretty could be my grandma. Ha! Later, I realized she was my dad's stepmom, which makes sense. I don't remember much from her visit, except that she had really pretty hair, and how nice she was. I do recall how well she and my mom got along. It's a strange thing when a family member you never really knew passes away. This time it really hit me. We just recently came into contact again. Her children, who would be my aunts and uncle sought me out on Facebook, and from there she did also. We wrote a bit. She had such wonderful things to say about my mom, and my babyhood. It was really nice to hear those things from someone on my dad's side.
When I found out the news today, I found myself not only at a loss for words, but uncontrollably sobbing. Mourning a ghost of my ancestrial past, I guess.
Rest peacefully, Patricia Sledge. My heart is with you.
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