When I begin to reminisce about my family, my thoughts always land on my grandma, Nana. She was a one in a million. She always strived to have a positive attitude, even when the situations were not the greatest, so I take a lot of inspiration from her with how I handle adversity.
The main characteristic about her I remember is she liked to talk lol. The stories about her and her sisters and all the situations she found herself in, I had probably heard a dozen times each. After she met my grandpa and had my aunt, dad and uncle, I probably had a better memory of their childhoods than they did, with the mental clarity and recall she had, it was sometimes as if I was standing in the house with them. Ooh and the ghost stories she would tell my sister and I about the very house we would visit, would terrify but intrigue us. There were definitely some weird and creepy experiences to be had in my grandparents’ house, so I put a lot of trust into what she would say.
Her faith in God was also quite strong. She was unable to make it to a physical church, particularly when she had to be on oxygen so she would faithfully watch certain televangelists and listen intently to their sermons. She maintained the “it is what it is” mentality, making her seem like a wave breaker standing strong with the changing tides of life.
Her honesty was another of her traits. Sometimes, she was brutally honest to the point of hurting some feelings (you did not want to ask her if a shirt or dress made you look fat) however, it made me have pretty thick skin and allowed me to speak my mind as well. I do try to be a tad bit tactful though lol She would go into so much detail about tragic moments in her life that would rip your heart out of your chest, then crack a somewhat inappropriate joke about my grandpa. You never knew what would come out of her mouth lol
By the time she passed away, she had buried her husband of fifty-something years, and her own daughter. She obviously had her moments where she let her grief get the better of her, but she stood her ground and held her head up my entire life I knew her. When the Lord called her home, she ended up passing away in the very hospital that brought my sister and I into the world (there is something poetic there lol). I had the privilege of holding her hand through it all, feeling the life leave her. It was a very quiet time, as it looked like she simply fell asleep, no pain, no tears, just peace.
I remember when I spoke to her and felt her warm hug for the last time, and would give anything to wrap my arms around her once again but I know I will see her again.
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