First off, I can NOT believe I have not EVER written about my Nanny on this blog. No idea how that happened, or didn't happen rather. My Nanny is my mom's mom. She passed away in February of 2008 at 75 years old. That doesn't seem very old but she was by far, my oldest grandparent. All of my other grandparents passed away in their 60's. She was also the only one I was really close to (well, Papa too but he passed away when I was 6). Anyways, let me tell you about this amazing woman.
Sweet look on my face, huh? ;)
My Nanny was born in 1932. She was one of the strongest women I have ever met. She was sweet, passionate, opinionated, and true to her beliefs. She loved helping people any chance that she could. She would make sure YOU were helping yourself though. She was caring, giving, religious, and funny. You knew every thought she was having. She was very clear about her feelings and quite blunt (this is where I get it from). Her opinion really mattered to me, which was not good when I had tons of piercings, pink hair, and a long haired boyfriend. Haha. She wasn't a fond of those things.
She was old fashioned. She hung her clothes outside, she woke up at the same time everyday, she MADE all of her food like spaghetti sauce. She watched Wheel of Fortune everyday, she hated Jeopardy because it made her feel stupid.
She married my papa when she was in her teens. They had 5 kids, my mom being the youngest and only girl. My papa passed away in 1993 when I was 6 years old. She lived in Jacksonville in my mom's childhood home until the mid to late 90's when she decided she couldn't live there anymore. She moved to Fernandina Beach.
She met a man named Aubrey, at her church in the late 90's, they married, and moved to to Yulee. They changed a three car garage into a functioning house. It was pretty amazing.
I have a note that I wrote my Nanny when I was younger that made me feel pretty bad. I wrote her a letter that pretty much said "Nanny, Mom said you were coming to visit us. We waited and waited. You never showed up. Why didn't you want to see me? Are you mad at me?" Wow.... Guilt trip much, 9 year old me? I obviously wanted to escape my house, also loved my Nanny, and couldn't nicely express how I feel. I still have that issue at 27 years old. :X
In 2001, after my mom discovered my dad is well, a pervert (BEWARE: THAT IS A PRETTY VULGAR POST), we moved to Yulee. We briefly lived with my Nanny until we got out own apartment. I'm very grateful that my Nanny moved to Yulee/Fernandina because we ended up there. I had literally ONE friend in my old high school. I moved and made a TON of friends and met a ton of amazing people plus we were closer to Nanny.
In October of 2007 she was told that she may pass away soon. She decided she was NOT going to pass away in October. She had started forgetting a lot. She wasn't driving anymore. Papa had died in October and so had Aubrey. She had moved from her house to an Assisted Living home in Jacksonville. She had a lot of liquid built up in her body. I'm not completely sure what was happening. She refused to wear her oxygen. I feel like she got bad over night. :/ My sister and I went to visit her in the elderly home. She told us to "come back before she left". I asked my mom what she was talking about. She said she was just saying stuff because lack of oxygen. A couple of days later she passed away. She passed away February 26th, 2008.
I hope you had an amazing birthday in heaven, Nanny. You'd be 82. Wow, I just can't believe it's been that long.
Tell me about the grandparent you're closest to in the comments. I would love to hear about him or her!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you for coming to our blog! We love comments and would love for you to come back!