not forgotten...

Today, I went to a funeral for a sweet, loving, ornery Christian woman. A person who has lived her life the best she could and using all she had to keep moving forward at all times. A person who reminds me of my own sweet great-grandmothers. I can't help but reflect...

I really love old people. I define someone as old as being at least 72, by the way because that was the age Granny Who was when I had the thought "man, she's old".

My Granny Buna would have been 101 years old this year, and we did the same thing that Ma's family did...we figured she would live forever because she already HAD! Live, something she did and well. Not because she had money, but she had rich memories and rich family love. Granny Buna contracted Polo when she was 2 years old, which left her without full use of her legs, always left behind by her siblings, she learned how to walk on her hands so she could do something 'they' couldn't do. I never knew a time where she didn't use a cart to get around. Though I do remember her able to stand with crutches to cook. Granny was never supposed to have children because her doctor didn't think it was safe. Well, she had 5 boys, and named one after that Dr. I love that. She knew incredible, unspeakable heart ache...especially with the outliving of all but one of her boys. She remembered everything and always sought to create something, weather it was food, paintings or other crafts or even music. She became the neighborhood Granny, and was friends with everyone, she loved connecting with people and loved God in a way that you saw it on her face. She wrote all of her memory's and published a book, it's fun to read, and now when I read it I cry because I miss her and I can hear her voice telling me all of those stories as she had in person.

Granny Who was always a little more stern. She was a beautician. She ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS had to look her best. She had a cellar at her house which was always the result of adventures by us kids. She also had a drawer full of scarves and we always used them to do a fashion show every time we visited. She was an amazing cook and is the source of many of the family favorites...including Momma Kay's bread, the all important mac'n'cheese. She also was creative. She hand crafted quilts. That's HAND CRAFTED...as in NO sewing machine, EVER! Her quilts are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. She always said that someone could have one if they named their daughter "Pansy" which was her real name. I haven't had the chance to name a girl...but hey, who knows maybe someday...

My Granny Johnson was the last to pass. She was a poet and made all sorts of things all the time. She knitted and I will always regret that I didn't get to learn that from her. She was such a bright positive person and always had a funny song and fun story to tell. She loved to sing and loved God so very much!

I was born at just the right time to have my great-grandmother's as part of my life. How I got so lucky I will never know but I CAN say I can't WAIT to be a Granny!