My Dead Grandmother Was Right There Next to Me Shopping for Plants

For a few seconds, my dead grandmother was right there next to me shopping for plants.

I was walking through the garden center of H-E-B Plus on a particularly muggy August afternoon.

I was leisurely picking out plants and loading them onto my cart, despite the heat.

My dead grandmother was right there next to me.

And all of a sudden, she was right there with me.

The spider plants she loved filled my view.

The sweet smells of flowers and sweet potato vines filled my nose.

The heat and humidity that reminded me of Houston summers warmed my skin.

And the sound of George Strait playing on the radio filled my ears.

For a few seconds, my dead grandmother was right there next to me shopping for plants.

For a few seconds, I could’ve sworn she was right there next to me.

I could’ve sworn my green-thumbed grandma was with me in that garden center.

I could’ve sworn she was helping me pick out plants.

And then I remembered.

And the moment was over.

You see, my maternal grandmother has been dead for 2.5 years.

She died in a memory care facility just a few minutes away from that garden center.

But, for a few seconds, my dead grandmother was right there next to me shopping for plants.

She was laughing and smiling and helping me pick out plants like she did when I was a kid.