Mamie
I never got to meet my great grandma Mamie. I wear her rings on my left hand every single day. When I look down at them, I think of her. I hear that she was strong-willed, but effortlessly classy. I also hear that I favor her a bit, and I love that. I miss her, even though I never knew her.
The one great grandparent I was blessed with was Ernest. He later added his middle initial and was eternally known as E.F.G. I think I get my humor from this man. If my calculations are correct, he was 73 when I was born. I have seen photos of him staring at me through hospital glass. Everyone says that his was the first name I called out..."PawPaw Uhnest." I remember going to his little house and playing dress up with his coats and hats. I remember the smell of a hot stove while he was working on canning vegetables. I remember rocking on his porch (on a glider than now belongs to me) and watching cars pass by. I remember him asking me if I'd studied "arithmetic" at school. I remember that red jacket and coat he always wore at Christmas. I remember that little dish of rubber bands you kept in your kitchen that I always played with (your great-great granddaughter now loves to play with that dish). Classy and charismatic until the very end.
Floyd
This one hurts my heart. Sept. 2 would have been his 86th birthday. He died when he was 69. I was 17. It was the hardest thing that I'd ever had to face at the time. My Paw Paw loved to read. He always asked me what I was reading, and even more importantly, what I was writing. He loved reading what I wrote. He loved telling me how much he enjoyed it. He told me that I should write children's books. He literally looked at me and said this. I was a child. I wasn't even thinking of being a teacher at this point. One day I will fulfill his wish. I fully believe he sent me many, many mentors to guide me in that direction.
Oh, Margie! She hated that name, by the way, so that is why she was lovingly referred to by her middle name, Maxine, or "Mac." Granny, as I knew her, loved fiercely. If you had a bad haircut, a bad outfit, or (in my case) a bad husband, she was telling you about it in the most loving way she could muster. During my divorce I felt awful. I felt like everyone in the world was judging me. My precious granny saw me through it. She got me. She stood by me. And after about 2 years she said, "Do you really want to be an old maid school teacher?" I promise you people, I met Bradley not 2 days later. And can I just tell you...Maxine LOVED her children and her grands, but she LOVE, LOVE, LOVED the ones we picked to marry (Kevin, Randy, Sheri, Eddy, Bo). So this woman ADORED Bradley. She called him "Luckey." She told me I was lucky to have him. My last memories are of B coming home and asking if we could go take Granny to eat at LaHa.
Emma was born on 2/4/15. Granny died on 3/27/15. She had a month. My granny got to hold that baby and tell her how much she looked like that "handsome Luckey." My girl got to sit in the bed with her Great Granny at Hospice House a month later and give her some of the last memories she had. I will savor those moments for the rest of my life. I will miss that woman for the rest of my days. I think about her every day. God's promises are real. This was her favorite verse:
"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."
Joshua 22:5
Betty
Y'all. She is 86. She takes swim classes. She manages a business. She is the matriarch of our family. She loves Doo Wap music. She plays the piano. She could straight up school you on anything about the Bible. She's my grandma. She is Emma's great-grandma. And honestly, she is the coolest 'old chick' you will ever meet. My grandma raised 3 boys, so when I came around I think she just kind of had a bit of a FREAK OUT! and we've been joined at the hip ever since. She calls me Mandy Jo. She takes me on shopping trips (still!) But most of all, she ADORES my little girl and they play the piano together every Wednesday. Seeing these two together every week is music to my soul. They just get each other.
I am going to be completely honest. Out of all of these 5, I am the most like him. Take us or leave us. Good AND bad. If you know Fred, you know what I mean. I am fairly certain that when I was born, this man's world changed forever. He'd raised 3 sons and now he had a granddaughter. Out of every person in my life, this man has always made me feel like I was the Princess. I didn't deserve it, but he gave it to me. And if that weren't enough, I was dad's princess too. But now, I have this girl. We visit Fred every Wednesday without fail. He looks at her with the most sincere eyes. He prays that the days will come when she wants to spend the night with them (and they most certainly will). He wishes that she smiles with reason and laughs with hope.
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If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I’d have had them first. ~Lois Wyse
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