Memories of Gram And Her Trip To McDonalds

The last time I saw my grandmother before she went to a hospice in early 2016, was only two months earlier in the midst of the approaching Christmas season. Gram was a resident of an Assisted Living Facility in Eureka Springs, AR and was reliant on a walker. `Gram’s weight and once hearty appetite for food and snacks had dwindled so rapidly that everyone close to her were beginning to worry a great deal about her overall condition. When my aunt Kathy mentioned that Gram liked strawberry and banana McCafes, my mother Ruth, uncle Harrison, sister Cat and I took her to the town’s McDonald’s and ordered her a meal along with her favorite shake full of good flavored calories. We watched with glee as Gram devoured her shake, and most of her fries and burger. Her enthusiasm for the food gave us hope that perhaps her interest in food had been revived. The hour of joy we spent with Gram at the world’s most popular fast food restaurant was more enhanced by her interest and fascination with modern technology when she began fiddling with my uncle’s iPhone. After McDonalds, we took her to the nearby Beaver Lake just outside of this beautiful rural Arkansas town to take in nature under the warm December sun. It was the last time all of us on that day spent precious and joyous moments with Gram before her passing in February.  - Claire Chabert, October 20, 2017