Granny

Yesterday, at 9:15 EDT, Granny's chariot came and took her home.  I will miss her, but I am so relieved that she is no longer suffering and is finally reunited with her family.  I wondered if she recognized her mother that she lost when she was ten.  I wondered if Daddy, Pop and Aunt Margaret were there, eagerly waiting for her. I can only imagine what she thought when she was in the presence of our Savior.

I have decided not to go to the funeral in Florida.  I have struggled with this and I have to say, I am still not totally comfortable with my decision.  I have to take a class on Tuesday and my first full day of work, for the new school year, is Friday.  I just feel that I can't afford to go and I need to be at school.  I have prayed about this for two weeks and now I have to trust that I made the right decision. 

Granny and I said goodbye a couple of weeks ago.  I truly thought she would not be with us when I got back home from Joplin. I told her that I loved her. I called her a couple of weeks before that.  Her last words to me were "I love you Shari".  What more could I ask for? What more needs to be said?

When I think of Granny, I think of one word: strong.  She was indeed a very strong woman.  I think of her as she push-mowed her humongous yard, made biscuits and bacon every morning for my grandpa, always had a garden, kept an immaculate house and yard, canned vegetables, and cleaned fish. She survived two husbands and, within the last year, she lost two of her three children.  I hope you rest now, Granny.

Granny (Polly Mary Lot Day Forbes) was from Douglas, Georgia.  Her family has been in Georgia since the 1700s.  I joke with folks when I tell them that I am as southern as "Paula Deen".  She lost her mother when she was ten.  Her dad remarried and she was raised on a hard working farm with a "step" mom.  I don't know what kind of relationship she had with their stepmother.  She never really talked about it.  I think her father was apt to drink too much.  She never talked very positively about her childhood.  She did tell me one time that of all the inventions that have occurred in her lifetime, the telephone was the one she has enjoyed and appreciated the most.  She never learned to drive.  That's unheard of today. She tried once, didn't do so well, so she decided that driving was not for her.  I remember walking to Goodwill with her.  Yes, folks, she started my obsession with Goodwill from a very early age. She taught me to take care of the things I have.  She taught me to value every dollar I have.  She told me that, during the depression, she had to eat green sweet potatoes out of the garden because that is all they had to eat.

At some point, I am thinking around 16 years old or so, she moved to Haines City, Florida and worked in a citrus packing house.  There, she met my grandpa.  Her sisters, Aunt Beatrice, Aunt Fanny, and Aunt Edith all came with her.  Aunt Rose, Aunt Ardele (only child left now), and Uncle Shel all stayed in Georgia.  It was a family joke that at one point, she actually dated Uncle Jack, who Aunt Bea eventually married.  Pop and Granny moved to Tampa after Pop got a job at the shipyards.  There, Aunt Shirlean was born.  Pop got a job with "the county" and they moved back to Haines City.  They bought some property on Lake Tracy.  There Pop built their house, they raised three kids and Granny lived until six months ago.  Her children included Aunt Shirlean, Aunt Margaret and my dad, Danny. She survived the shenanigans of Aunt Margaret (yes, she went on a date and came home married) and she sent my dad off to the Vietnam War. Oh, the changes that house has seen over the last 70 years or so. 

She worked in the local school cafeteria until she retired.  She always said that she worked there so that she could keep my dad in school.  The story goes that he would often leave school and walk home as he didn't like to stay. 

After retirement, she devoted her life to Pop, her family and her home.  She often watched her grandchildren, including me, for a couple weeks at the time. Her grandchildren include me, Tammie, Daniel, Jennifer, Richard, Robert and Brock.  She is survived by great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. Pop died in 1992 after over 50 years of marriage.

At the age of 85, she married Al Forbes.  She loved him.  They were married for a few years, until he passed away.  When you marry at 85, it's hard to plan for a long life together.  I can say that the few years she spent with Al were happy ones.  She loved traveling with him and visiting the local amusement parks.  She had never done these things until this time.  I think Al showed her a part of the world she had never seen. I am so happy that she was able to be in a relationship that filled her heart so much.

I called her every two weeks, for years.  Her mental abilities began to fade this last year, but until this time, she remained sharp as a tack.  I can only hope that I am so lucky.

I will miss her. I will cry over memories I have of her.  In my heart I will celebrate her and cherish the bits of her I see in myself.  I can only hope that I can be "strong", just like her.