Patricia Johnson: A Woman's Best Friend

Patricia Johnson is a 68 year old woman with the most loving family that anyone could ever hope to have, and one I am very proud to say I am apart of. She was married to her husband Edward Johnson for 25 years, and was a loving step-mother to his three boys. She has always been very independent and stressed to my sister and I the importance of this quality in a woman. When she fell in love with my grandfather, she says, she gave him some of her business savvy skills, and he gave her more companionship that she did not know she ever wanted. As the oldest daughter of four other children, she always felt that she spent her younger years being a “mother” she did not have a desire to have her own children. So when she married my grandfather, a divorced …show more content…
My grandfather filled many roles for her, she she for him. He was her husband, best friend, travel partner, party escort, golf partner, and overall companion. She lost all of these when he died, which is why her grief over his death, even seven years older, was so overwhelming that she was not sure if she would be able to answer my questions. Not only was he important to her, everyone else knew that too which is why she received so much support from those around her. While they had not been married as long as many other people their age, their realtionship was one of great quality. It can also be noted that her realtionship toward the end of his life was his caregiver. They hired some private nurses to help her shower him, but that was to help her, not to do it for her. The great amount of grief that my grandmother experienced was also affected by the way that the medical personnel around them made my grandfather’s illness look. The medical professionals in the beginning of my grandfather’s journey, made his cancer seem very …show more content…
I had not truly thought about all that they were for each other until prompted. I could not be happier that my grandmother and I were able to have this conversation. I do believe that if I were to have prompted her with these questions, just for my knowing, she would have been more hesitant to answer. Her insistence to always help me with whatever school project that comes up, allowed me to have a very difficult conversation with her, that I have always wanted to have. My family does not normally talk about topics of this manner with ease. Also, was very happy to know what a support I was to her in this time, even though I did not remember doing much specifically. I also found it interesting to look at the topics that we are talking about in class, and being able to apply them to my own life experiences. I understand the topics that we are talking about in class, but this kind of application really allowed me to connect to the material personally. Lastly, this was not really a side of my grandmother that I had ever experienced, so I was really happy that I was able to do that. Obviously, I knew that she loved him and missed him a great deal, but to hear her say this in her own words truly touched me in a way that I could not begin to describe. In the ending, I am happy that my grandmother has learned to feel again, and I cannot wait to see what else her future holds for