Bye Bye, Nana
Monday, January 29, 2007

You were the picture of dignity and class until the end. You never complained about the lot you were dealt or the pain you must have been feeling as your once beautiful body was replaced as host for malignancy. Your life, Nana, was amazing. You graduated Magna Cum Laude in a time when a women’s roll was to raise a family and cook. You were a translator for the National Security Agency during Korean War intercepting and decoding messages in Chinese and Japanese, and these were not the only languages you mastered in your life – Spanish and French completed your linguistic talents. You met my Grandfather at the NSA, married him, and started a family. You raised two wonderfully bright children and you were devastated when your husband of nineteen years left you to be a single mother. You were bitter, but as always your tenderness and faith pulled you though. You were a wonderful grandmother, always gentle and never harsh. You were blessed in your later years with a second husband that loved you deeply, and you loved in return. You were transformed from a single working women living alone in her sixties to a vibrant new women, in love. When the Commander died you were sad but you continued to live life to the fullest. You were diagnosed with cancer and despite the six months prognosis, you lived two years. You never complained. You basked in the sun when Aunt Tammy took you to Hawaii last year, what a wonderful gift to experience such beauty on earth. You died with dignity and grace, with your mind and memory totally in tact. You are in heaven now with a new body, your soul and mind no longer bound to a broken vessel.

I will remember the Nana who loved to stay up until 2AM watching old movies and the home shopping network before she would start vacuuming. I will remember your strawberry shortcake that you would make for me every time I would come to visit. I will remember your faith, not always spoken, but always acted. I will remember that your mind, even when your body was frail and wasting, was sharp and your memory vivid as you often recalled to me stories of the past. I will remember how you loved to drink regular coke and eat snickers even after you were diagnosed with diabetes. I will remember our late night conversations while I was driving home from Orlando telling you about the man I would marry. I will remember how in the end you did not want me to come and visit because you did not want me to see you not well. I will remember how I wished you had let me join in your suffering even though I know you loved me too much to do so. Most of all, Nana, I will remember your life and I will tell my children about my Nana and what an amazing women you were.


Posted bySteph posted 8:46 AM  

3 comments:

Mike Fennema said... Monday, January 29, 2007 9:03:00 AM  

She was truly an amazing woman, and I love the many conversations that I had with her and all the stories that you have shared with me. I never had the chance to meet her, but I will miss her.
I am thankful that her dignity, beauty, grace, and love have passed from her to her granddaughter.

I love you.

Nathan and Betsy said... Monday, January 29, 2007 8:32:00 PM  

Steph (and Mike)....many prayers for both of you during this difficult loss. My Gram just passed away on Tuesday, and I can only empathize with you through my own loss....but know that prayers are being offered up for your peace and comfort.

Anonymous said... Tuesday, February 06, 2007 10:13:00 AM  

I had been meaning to leave a comment - this is such a beautiful description of your grandmother - you can tell how much you loved and respected her. She sounds like a woman ahead of her time. Very classy and accomplished. I bet she would have been fun to talk with. Thinking of you....Amy

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)