A Grandmother’s Sacrifice

The sun rises all too soon

Gran eases out of her cramped sofa position

Braces herself to meet another day

Ready to repeat it all again

.

She gently tucks Luke into his car seat

Together they begin the daily hospital drive

Scanning the cityscape for the Sky Tower
Monuments that mark this repetitive journey

.

This trip is all too frequent

As Gran pulls in to the hospital carpark

A small window of time

Reuniting Luke with his mummy and baby brother

.
Gran carefully juggles all his food and drink
And staggers through the hospital
Loaded down with bags of washing and a little boy
Ready for the cherished moments of connection

.

She gazes down at her smaller baby grandson

Hooked up to oxygen and heart rate monitors

A little boy, straining to beat the odds

A fighter with incredible spirit

.

Life held in fragile hands

He’s too young to know

That the fight in him

Comes from the grit in her

.

Luke bounds around the stark room

A bright vision of life and uncontained energy

Gran beckons him over onto her lap

As together they scan the sky for rescue helicopters

.

The moments gone too soon

Packed back up and loaded down

They pay the daily parking fee

And struggle to beat the rising rush hour traffic

.

Together they return home

Gran starts the usual

Preparing dinner, bath time, snuggles and stories

As Gran stands in for mummy

.

In the evening Gran shifts uncomfortably on the sofa

Waiting for when Luke will appear

Tearful and missing his mummy

.

With reassuring strokes she smoothes his hair

Kisses his brow

And returns him gently to bed

.

Her phone rings, time and again

Her own husband

Separated by land, sea and a plane ride

Holding the fort back at home

They check in around the day’s events

The latest medical updates

And think about when this season might end

.

A season of sacrifice

Separation

Away from her own husband and her own home

To sustain her daughter’s world

.

She settles back into her station on the sofa

One family still just held together

A journey still unfolding

Because of a grandmother’s unwavering presence

And a grandmother’s sacrifice.