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The warm and sunny day before Thanksgiving, when all the fantastic-smelling plump turkey, ham, fluffy mashed potatoes, and gravy were cooking, Maddie and her dad were sitting on the couch at her house in New Jersey when they heard a very loud and startling ring from her dad's phone. "Hello?" asked Maddie’s dad as he answered his cell phone. Maddie could only hear mumbling on the other end of the phone; however, somehow she knew that the person was crying so much that they would cry until they couldn't breathe. "Oh, hi Joyce," Maddie’s dad said, "What's wrong?" He looked suprised to hear from Joyce. As soon as Maddie heard her dad ask Joyce what was wrong, she got nervous. Then, Maddie heard more quiet mumbling. The one thing she did hear though was //'It’s about Grandma'.// She stared at her dad with wide eyes, and she was as curious as a toddler to know what had happened. Joyce was Maddie's aunt and as soon as Maddie took one look at her dad's devastated face, she knew something horrible had happened, but she didn't know what.

While her dad was still talking on the phone with Joyce, Maddie started to think about summer of 2006, the last time she had seen her grandma. It was a beautiful summer. She remembered hearing all the birds chirping rapidly, the sun was shining bright, and she also remembered smelling freshly cut grass because when she, her mom and dad, her cousin Jeremy, and his parents, Joyce and Frank, were visiting Maddie and Jeremy's grandma, they all made Jeremy cut the grass. Jeremy was fourteen years old and had one older brother, but he wasn’t there to help with the grass. "A lawnmower is a lawn's worst enemy," said Joyce, "but the lawn has to stand up to its enemy sometime." "I know," complained Jeremy, "but why do I have to be the person who makes the lawn face it?" "Because I said so. Now do Grandma and Grandpa a favor, please." "Okay, fine," said Jeremy, reluctantly going to get the lawnmower. After that, all you heard was talking and the lawnmower grumbling as it started. Later that day, everyone was sitting together just talking and having fun. No one (besides her husband) lived with Grandma but she did have a nurse come over to her house a few times a day because Maddie's grandma has Alzheimer’s. Since Joyce and her family lived close by, they went to check up on them at least once a week, too. Grandma would ask a question, and a few minutes later, she would ask it again. But, it didn’t bother anyone; they were all understanding of the disease she had. "So what grade are you going to be in this year?" asked Maddie's grandma. "Fifth grade," Maddie replied. "And what grade will you be in, Jeremy?" "Ninth," he said. "What grade will you be in, Maddie?" "Fifth," she said again. In conclusion, that's how the conversations would be when you talked to Maddie's grandma. But, eventually they would move on to another question.

Finally, just before everyone was about to leave, Maddie's grandma took Maddie inside and down to the basement. Maddie had no idea what her grandma was doing and she was curious why they were going down there. Although she did know that was where her grandma kept the stuffed animals she collected including the one specific elephant that was very special to her. Then, to Maddie’s surprise, her grandma took the gray, stuffed elephant off of the shelf and handed it to Maddie who was shocked at what she was seeing her grandma do. She told Maddie to take it back to Joyce's house, where her and her mom and dad were staying while they were visiting family in Indiana, and then to take it home to New Jersey with her when they drove back. Maddie told her 'no' that she couldn't take it but, her grandma insisted. So Maddie took it. Maddie climbed into the white pickup truck and they drove back to Joyce's house. When they got there, Maddie's grandma called her dad and asked him if he knew where her stuffed elephant went. He told her that she gave the elephant to Maddie. And then Maddie's grandma remembered that she had.

T hen Maddie came out of her reverie and came back to the present. Now she thought she knew what her dad and Joyce were talking about on the phone. But, she hoped with all her might that what they were talking about wasn't what she thought.

"Oh, okay Joyce, thanks for telling me." It was late afternoon around 3:30. Maddie's dad hung up the phone, still sitting on the couch next to her. "What happened?!" she said right away. "Tell me! Tell me, pleeeaaase!" "Maddie, I have some terrible news abut Grandma," he said, looking straight into her worried brown eyes. "What is it? Just tell me. Whatever it is I can handle it, Dad," begged Maddie. "Maddie...Grandma...she...," he stuttered. There was a short silence. Maddie just stared at her dad waiting for an answer. "Grandma died," Maddie's dad whispered glumly. "What? No! No, that's impossible! You said it your self: that could only happen when pigs fly," Maddie yelled. She was so upset that it felt like her heart had dropped to her toes. "Well, I was wrong. Maddie, I’m sorry but everyone dies eventually. I’m just as upset as you are," he said. But he was too late; Maddie had already run upstairs sobbing with tears coming out of her eyes the whole way. She bumped into her mom on the way up. Maddie looked up at her and they couldn't help but to hug each other. Maddie felt a little better hugging her comforting mom. Although, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop crying. "Goodbye, goodnight, and good luck in your new life, Grandma," Maddie whispered as a teardrop that glistened in the light rolled slowly down her rosy cheek.

The next warm but cloudy day was Thanksgiving. Everyone in her family always drove to her house. When everyone got there, Maddie joined in on the laughter and fun, but still the thought of her grandma kept popping in her head. But, that was about to change. 'Splash!' went her cousin Niki's Coke as Niki clumsily knocked it over on the table. Maddie looked over and saw Niki's brown hair in a ponytail bobbing up and down as she reached for a napkin. Maddie started laughing so hard that her stomach started to hurt; but that made her laugh even more. She went to help clean up the cold, bubbly soda and that was the last thought of her grandma she had that day.

The next day, Maddie's dad started packing to go to the funeral which was in Indiana. 'Zip, zip, zip, zip' went the zippers opening and closing on the suitcase. "But why do you have to go?" Maddie asked, following her dad downstairs. "I can't miss Grandma's funeral," her dad said. "Then why can't Mom and I go too?" "Because you will miss too many days of school if you come and your mom has to stay with you," he explained. Maddie just stood there as he walked outside and loaded his bags in the truck. When he came back in, Maddie and her mom said goodbye even though they didn't want him to go. Her dad walked back out to the truck, climbed in, and beeped to say goodbye one last time as he drove away. A small tear rolled down Maddie's cheek but she just wiped it off because she knew she would see her dad again soon. She sighed and plopped herself down on the couch. "Goodbye is not an easy word to say," she whispered to herself, "but I have had to say it many more times than once."

"She died from Alzheimer's, which is a disease that effects your memory and you can't remember as much as you should be able to," Maddie said in a small voice. She was telling her friends about how her grandma had died. Maddie didn't want to think about how her grandma died, but she wanted to finish the story. "Are you sure you are okay talking about this?" her friends asked. "Um," Maddie paused to think for a second, "Yeah, I'm okay." They all smiled at each other and Maddie went on with the story.  It was now two months after Maddie found out that her grandma died. It was also 2008; the New Year. The day was cloudy and cold but Maddie's mood was the total opposite of the weather. Maddie was joyful and bounced up and down when she waked. She wasn't as upset anymore because she knew she always had the memories of hearing her grandma's sweet voice and smelling her delicious cooking. "She always knew she could and would be able to do anything," Maddie explained. "She was as amazing as the sun coming up at dawn and so confident she wouldn't stop for anything once she had her mind set on it." Maddie's friends just kept listening. "And the one thing I've learned from her death is a physical death can be just as painful as an emotional one." Then Maddie realized she got over her grandma's death. Finally, for the first time since she heard about it last year, she was okay with what happened to her. All she did was smile.