United States Representative Charles Norwood, who left Washington last week to enter into the care of hospice, died yesterday at his home after battling cancer and lung disease. He was 65.

Norwood, whose passing prompted the House to observe a moment of silence Tuesday in his honor, suffered since 1998 from chronic lung disease and later metastatic cancer that spread from his lungs to his liver. Last week, he announced he would no longer accept treatment, that he would allow hospice to care for him for the remainder of his days.

A dentist from Augusta, Georgia, Norwood was the first Republican to represent northeastern Georgia since the Civil War. A conservative passionately opposed to government bureaucracy and adamantly supportive of patients' rights, he hoped to one day become Georgia's first Republican Governor.

Norwood's medical decline began when his lung condition -- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis -- began restricting his ability to breathe and necessitated a lung transplant in 2004.

Known for zipping around the Capitol with a motorized cart and oxygen tank, Norwood developed cancer on his non-transplanted lung reportedly due to the immune suppression drugs he took after his transplant. And although his cancer was surgically removed and his health did improve, doctors learned this past November his cancer had spread.

The vacancy left by Norwood's death will not be filled immediately due to governmental process. In Georgia, within 10 days of the seat being vacated, the governor must request a special election to the secretary of state. And the election must be held no fewer than 30 days later.

Norwood is survived by his wife, Gloria; two sons, Charles and Carlton; and four grandchildren.

She says it's all that really matters to her -- the time she spends with family. It comes before work and commitments and responsibilities. It shapes her minutes, her hours, her days. It brings her joy and laughter and sometimes tears. It propels her, comforts her, inspires her. And it shows -- in everything she does. And she does a lot. But most important, especially in light of today -- Grandparent's Day -- is what she does for her grandchildren who are too small to truly express what's in their little hearts but will surely one day shout from rooftops with joy about this woman who wraps them in love every day. But for now, these three children -- ages five, three, and almost two -- mostly just shout happily about all sorts of things that don't always make a lot of sense. So today, I will speak for them. I will say thank you to their Nana -- my mom -- who watches her granddaughter every day, picks up her grandson from kindergarten two times per week, takes all three kids on swimming adventures, babysits on a moment's notice, and has twice this year sat with her daughters for hours in emergency rooms with sick babies. And in addition to the fact that she was completely by my side during my breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, she was also somehow caring for my children -- her grandsons.

If my mom wasn't sitting with me during chemotherapy infusions, she was watching my boys so my husband could be with me. If she wasn't sitting with me in the hospital each time I was admitted with neutropenia, she was at home with my boys so my husband could sit with me. And when my husband had to rush me to the hospital with dangerous fevers, she arrived in the middle of the night, slept in my bed, and greeted my babies when they woke. She entertained my boys every day for seven weeks while I hauled myself to and from radiation appointments. During chemo, she took my kids when I was tired, foggy, incoherent and needed desperately to sleep. She did it all -- tirelessly, effortlessly, constantly.

And so on this Grandparent's Day, I realize that I owe this grandma for saving my life. By caring for the two most important people in my world, she allowed me to fight for my life -- and to come back to life. And there seems nothing really appropriate I can share with her for this gift she has given me. But I can say thank you. And one day, when they can eloquently express their own feelings, I know Jordan and Joey and Danny will all let their Nana know just how important she is. All day. Every day.

For a gardener, this is an exciting time of year. There is planning and planting and anticipation of the continuous summertime harvest bounty of fresh organic vegetables straight from the good earth of a home garden. If you have children, or grandchildren, it is an excellent opportunity in education and the lessons of tending and growing and benefiting from homegrown food. The wisdom of the garden and the gardener is the knowledge of life and living.

The Edible Schoolyard has brought all of this and more into the schoolyard at Martin Luther King Junior Middle School, where public school students are provided with a one-acre organic garden and a kitchen classroom. An explanation of the program is posted on The Edible Schoolyard website, where students learn how to grow, harvest, and prepare nutritious seasonal produce. Experiences in the kitchen and garden foster a better understanding of how the natural world sustains, and promotes the environmental and social well being of the school community.

As far as I can tell, much of the program is published online as a resource for parents and teachers interested in launching a similar program in community-area schools. I think, while reviewing the  extensive resources, that a parent could take advantage of the information and create an individualized homeschool-based program for their child, or children, if the local school does not provide this, or a similar program -- and include cancer prevention nutrition information about the organic produce grown -- for a lifetime of good health.