Ammamma says goodbye

Ammamma passed away on the 28th. I made it home in time to ask her one last time if she wanted to play chess with me (on the condition that I be allowed to cheat, of course!). I don't know if she heard me, or understood. I hope she did. I hope she smiled and said "I'll beat you yet!" Because that is the kind of woman she was.

Ammamma lived to a ripe old age - though she would (like my mother) insist that she was always 16 years and a few months old. She lived her life by her own terms. Failing eyesight and a rasping cough were the only signs that age had caught up with her. At an age where Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are par for the course, Ammamma beat the odds. Her memory was intact - as was her ability to control the world around her. Right till her last moments she never groaned or moaned or complained. She took all that life and death had to give her and faced it with a determination not to let it overpower her. WOW! What a way to go!
Will I have the same courage when it's my time. Probably not.
Tata! Ammamma! Love you.