Nannie

This is a picture of my grandmother, Nannie, with Sam, Maribeth, and Molly.  Nannie lived in the house next to mine on our family farm.  She was my dad's mother, and the only grandmother I knew, since my mom's mother died when I was very young.

Because of Nannie, I know the kind of grandmother I want to be - just like her.  There are many things I learned from her about being a grandmother - and these are just a few:

1.  Love.  I've always said that Nannie loved me the best because she always wanted me to be whatever I felt God wanted me to be.  She had no expectation of what I "should" be.  She just wanted me to be me.

2. Feeling Special.  I spent a lot of Saturday nights at Nannie's house, spending the night.  She would always fix me a special drink - cranberry cocktail juice with a saccharine tablet in it.  It was our special drink that we shared.  Once I painted a monster in my elementary school art class (not because I was artistically inclined - back then art was a weekly class for every student).  My mother was not too impressed with my creation, but Nannie hung it up on her wall where it stayed until it disintegrated (or the termites ate it).  She never criticized but thought whatever I did was great.

3.  Fun.  Nannie was all about having fun.  She joined the old folks club at church and played the triangle in the club band.  She went to Hawaii with her group.  She taught me to drive her tank of a car (1950s Ford).  She let me play her Readers Digest compilation record collection.  She loved my friends and they loved her back.

4.  Belief in God.  Her faith never wavered.  She was at church whenever the doors were open.  She served her church, her God, and her community.  Although she had her share of tragedies in her life, she always prayed and believed that God was in control of her life.

5.  Life.  Nannie believed in living every moment.  She loved being with family and friends, and made sure that the time we spent together was precious.

This week is Nannie's birthday week, and the best way I can celebrate her life is to be the kind of grandmother she was to me.  I certainly had a great role model!

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Today was a great day because:  Lunch at the Lobster with Everley, Steve, and Molly; Target shopping with Everley; Steve's Edam cheese grilled sandwiches for supper