We haven’t posted in a while. We had planned another Festive Friday post for the last Friday in June, but that turned into a hectic day, with Ryan’s flight getting in late, a mad dash to White Bluff to celebrate my Memaw’s birthday (but she was feeling sick by the time we got there), throwing stuff into suitcases for an early morning trip to Texas, and then a terrifying call that my sister’s house was on fire. Thankfully, no one got hurt. As you can imagine, we’ve had a very busy summer. But all of that is a story for another day.
This past Wednesday night (or early Thursday morning really as it was 2 a.m.) we watched my dear, sweet Memaw take her last breath on this earth. I’m thankful she’s not in pain anymore, and I’m thankful for the hope of Heaven, but I sure do miss her already. Life will never be the same without her, but it certainly was made sweeter because of her time here with us. A few of the grandchildren spoke during the service on Sunday. I thought I would share what I read during the services for those who couldn’t be there.
Memories of Memaw
My Memaw always fit the perfect image of a grandmother. From my earliest memories, I remember her in the kitchen cooking, I remember her sitting at the sewing machine helping me sew, I remember her rocking in her chair and crocheting…all the classic grandmother things.
There are so many things I’ll always remember about Memaw. She was a good hugger. She laughed a lot. She loved to sing. I remember her singing “Hang down your head, Tom Dooley” when I was little. As a teenager, I loved sitting beside her in church and listening to her beautiful alto voice harmonizing. I was determined to learn how to harmonize, so I would try to sing just like her. Memaw was also a giver, always sewing or crocheting gifts for us, or even giving her own possessions. Personally I’ve inherited several items, for a porcelain egg to a guitar, simply because I mentioned how much I liked them. (Come to think of it, maybe I inherited her knack for getting what she wanted.) Of course I can’t talk about memaw without mentioning her feistiness and her zeal for life. She knew how to have a good time.
I was blessed to live so close to my Memaw and to even live with her for a time. Some of my favorite memories are of her taking care of me. Whether it was coming to my defense when the older kids would pick on me (yes, I’m talking about you Mariah 🙂 ) or when I got older and she would pick me up from school when I had migraines, I always knew she was there for me. One of my favorite memories is the year when I was sad that I couldn’t afford Christmas gifts for my friends, so my Memaw helped me sew a gift for each of them. That’s the kind of grandmother she was. My sisters and cousins tell similar stories. While Memaw helped me through migraines, my younger sister talks about how Memaw helped her through puberty, with words of wisdom and lots of Advil. There were so many of us grandchildren, but Memaw took the time to give us exactly what we needed.
My Memaw had 8 kids, 29 grandkids and 27 great grandkids, and yet she still made me feel special and loved. Now there’s a slight possibility that I wasn’t really Memaw’s favorite…but she would make me feel like it. I’ve heard the same from a lot of people — how sweet she was to them, how special she made them feel. I’m pretty sure I inherited some of Memaw’s feistiness and ability to tell it like it is, and I know I inherited her love for music, but in the end, it’s her ability to make everyone feel loved and accepted that I hope to pass on. In a big family, it’s easy to get overlooked, but I always knew that wherever Memaw was, I was welcome there, and she would be happy to see me. I’m looking forward to seeing her again in Heaven one day. Just like it’s been all my life, I know she’ll welcome me there, and she’ll be so happy to see me.