Nana

Okay, this is the second time this has happened to me today, and I'm getting increasingly upset about it to the point that I need to say something somewhere:

This past Thursday, Brother called to tell me that his grandmother passed away.

( I knew it was coming. )

She wasn't my grandmother, but I miss her. I miss her smiles and her hugs and her AMAZING strawberry-rhubarb pie. I miss the warmth she brought to a room, and the way she always, always made me feel welcome and loved.

I miss her.

But she wasn't mine.

And invalidating my feelings of sorrow? THIS IS NOT OKAY. When I say 'I'm not okay', you don't stare at me in confusion and ask me why. When I say 'this person passed away recently and I'm sad about it' in an e-mail, you don't get to read over and ignore it. You DO NOT get to tell me who I am allowed to mourn.

Because she was still Nana to me, and I miss her. And I'm allowed to cry.