November 10, 2009

One year ago today, I lost my grandmother to a heart attack. She was in many respects a substitute mother to me. I learned a lot about what it means to truly love another human being and how it feels to be unconditionally loved from her. Her death marked the end of a generation in my family as I no longer had any remaining living grandparents. I mention this in my blog not to be a total downer, but because a lot of what I learned from my relationship with my grandmother I plan to take with me to Africa. My Peace Corps service, in my eyes and heart, is fundamentally an act of love. I hope my service makes my Grandma (and Grandpa), wherever they are, proud. It's a testament to the love that they generously gave me when there wasn't lots of it available.