We Will Miss You, Gram Mary

Bradley loves his "Gram Mary." We thought we were going to have her back for three days a week starting on Tuesday, but on Monday, she suffered a heart attack. Today, we are sad to say, she passed away.

Miss Mary has been a big part of Bradley's life, raising him during the day while Mommy and Daddy were at work from 3 months to 18 months. She was kind and patient with Bradley. She truly doted on that boy. She would always say that, "I love him like he's one of my own." And Miss Mary had his back, too. If anyone did anything towards Bradley, you better watch out for Miss Mary.

Our hallways still ring with the warm sounds of "Who is that handsome man?" and "Who's my biggest, biggest boy?" We never had to worry about leaving Bradley with Miss Mary, because "Me and the big boy, we're always good." When we would leave, he would hardly notice because he was with his Gram Mary.

Miss Mary was not the type to have one foot out the door when we got home. She always wanted to tell us what Bradley was doing and she was so proud of him whenever he did something new. Bradley's love for reading comes right from Miss Mary, as she spent countless hours reading with him. She took him outside in the sun before he knew how to walk or talk, in his stroller with his favorite toys and an outdoor speaker to play his favorite music. She fed him just the way he liked to be fed and read him everything he wanted to be read.

We learned how to fold a dirty diaper from Miss Mary. We learned what all those onesies everyone gave us at the baby shower were really for. When we did something that she thought wasn't best for Bradley, Miss Mary was sure to let us know. For instance, when the daycare took away his favorite cups, she thought he wasn't getting enough to drink because his diapers weren't as full, so we switched back.

Last weekend, Bradley got to see Miss Mary again for the first time since he's been talking. He instantly recognized her after two months of not seeing her, and despite having never called her by name, he called her "Grammy." She came over Sunday to talk about the details of coming back and nannying for Bradley again. After she left our house, Bradley kept saying, "Bye, Grammy, Bye, Grammy." When she called back later that day, we told her that he said bye and she was thrilled. We are very glad Bradley had the chance to say goodbye because he loved her a lot.

We are honored to have had this special lady as part of our family. Some people ask loved ones that recently departed to watch out for their children. But we don't have to ask -- we know Miss Mary will always be watching out for Bradley.