brought back

We teach a one room Sunday School (so, all ages are included) at our church on Sunday mornings after the service. There are usually only 6 or 7 kids, so it's not a big group and when an extra one shows up it is kind of a big deal. Sunday, I think it was an even bigger deal - at least for me.

Sunday, one of our regular students brought in a friend, (let's call her) Jane. I vaguely recognized Jane from sight, but when I heard her name I instantly also remembered her.

Student: Mrs. Leo, this is Jane
Me: Oh, (pause) I remember you! I used to babysit for you!
Jane: Oh, really?
Me: Yeah, your mom used to go to this church right?
Jane: Yes.
Me: Um, cool, yeah, I know you.

It was pretty awkward. Mostly though, because I was babysitting her when I found out my grandma died. And I never really saw them again.

I remember that I had already put the kids (she has a little brother) to bed. I was sitting in their open, light-filled ground level room and the light was just starting to disappear. The phone rang. I didn't have a cell phone then, so it must have been their home phone. It was my dad, barely holding back tears. He just came out with it: grandma had died, I needed to find my way home.

The thing is, my grandma was perfectly healthy. We were to have visited her the night before, but we had 'more important' plans. The news was shocking, and I couldn't get my mind around it. I'm not sure if I gave my dad the parents' cell phone number to call or I did it myself, but they came home as soon as they could. I got in my car and began to cry, or sob actually.

The drive from Rockford to Grand Haven, usually about 45 minutes, was the longest I have ever taken. When I got to my grandma's house I found most of my local relatives and the pastor sitting in the living room - more silent than that house had ever been.

All of those memories came back to me in that slight pause when I saw Jane again. I didn't even know how to deal with them. I must have come off to her like a complete weirdo. But she did offer me, completely unintentionally, the opportunity to remember an important event that helped shape my life.