This picture by photographer Hugh Gentry shows Barack Obama boarding a plane after a one day visit to his ailing grandmother.
Maybe it's just me, but I can see this man is literally carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Madelyn Dunham is gravely ill - and according to the NY Times, he says this may be the last time he sees his beloved "Toot" alive.
It's not hard for me to imagine the feelings that go along with this scenario. I've been there.
Years ago, I had to go say goodbye to my own grandmother. This amazing woman was a cornerstone in my life, she helped me become a "lady", taught me to make chicken and dumplins, whipped me with a switch ( gotta love Mississippi, lol!) and taught me the importance of family.
The last time I saw her, she didn't know I was there. She lay listlessly in her bed at my aunt's house as my mom, her sisters and their brother anxiously whispered and worried in an adjoining room.
Her chest barely moved as she took short shallow breaths and waited.
All I could do was hold her hand and choke out how much she meant to me. I wish to God I'd told her that more often.
I didn't attend her funeral. The shrunken lifeless body wasn't my grandma, her spirit was full of life and fire, and was gone from this earth, somewhere raising cain with my granddaddy.
So Mr Obama, I'm so sorry you are going through this. It's hurtful enough to be battered day in and day out by those who would make you less of a man and would attack your family as well...to have this additional burden on your soul is heartbreaking to me.
Stay strong, and our prayers are with you and your family.
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