Goodbye Nanny
My Nanny - my Mom’s Mother; my maternal grandmother - passed away this morning. She was 98. She had been suffering from dementia for years though so we’ve mourned her in spirit for a long time, today we mourn her in body as well.
Nanny was a widower. My grandfather was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 9 and she never remarried. Nanny had 6 children and I am the youngest of 13 grandchildren. I’ve lost count at the great-grandchildren at this point! She owned a flower shop in New York for years and continued running it years after her huband’s death. Later, she worked at the Social Security department from which she retired.
I used to spend weekends with her when I was a little girl in PA. She’d make me pancakes in funny animal shapes. I’d go with her to church and she’d braid my hair - always too tight!
- to keep it neat. I spent several summer vacations being her Navigator as we drove from Florida, up to North Carolina, then PA, NJ and NY to visit with her children and my extended family. We’d be out for two months driving thousands of miles together as I helped keep an eye on the maps and pick out good hotels from the AAA guide books for us to stop at.
Nanny, me (at age 7) and my Mom in front of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World 1984.)
I have so many warm memories of her and us together. Decorating her Christmas tree while listening to old Christmas albums; baking cookies; the special pineapple cream cheese roll she made for me because she knew how much I loved it - just moments of love and kindness.
I’ll miss you Nanny. I love you and thank you for being a strong woman. And instilling that into several generations of women - myself included.
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Originally published at Given Eyes To See. You can comment here or there.