Nanny. Nan.
My Nanny was about as awesome as awesome gets. In a time when ladies were supposed to be married and play house... my Nan wore pants. drove her own motorcycle. and raised a daughter on her own. because she wasn't even married. the world didn't tell her how it was going to be. she told the world how it was going to be. and she was amazing.
growing up Nan lived in my house for several years. She was the one who introduced me to the red sox. and how awesome Nomar Garciaparra was. she was the first one to point out to me how he did the thing with his batting gloves between each at bat. we talked baseball and basketball. she taught me that it was ok to be a girl and still like sports. (although my mom is a super huge football fan so we're all pretty well rounded women.)
She also showed me how tough women really can be. she fought and beat breast cancer twice. and then when I was a senior in high school the cancer came back. and we all knew that wasn't a fight anyone could win, not even her.
Instead of hiring an at house nurse, my grandmother asked me if I would take the job of looking after my Nanny the summer after I graduated. so i quit my job at a local pet store and the monday after my high school graduation I became the at home nurse for Nan. Every morning for two months we had breakfast together. we watched Days of Our Lives together, we both pretended not to notice the medicine I was slipping into her apple sauce together.
and even though we spent everyday right up until the day she died together, it will never quite seem like enough,
I wish just for one moment to have one of those days sitting at her breakfast table again so I could tell her about my life. I would tell her all about The Marsh and how I know she would love him if she could forgive him for thinking baseball is boring. And how I wore her lucky elephant ring tied to the back of my wedding dress the day I married him so that she was close to me the entire time
I would tell her that she would love Brey because he's so kind and sensitive. and that she would love Georgie because she doesn't take crap from anyone and has an "independent side" lets call it. I would tell her that I miss her. and that i think about her everytime I see the ceramic christmas magnets on my fridge that used to belong to her. or the piggy bank that my grandmother made for her, but gave to brey bear when he was just a baby. and I think of her every time i get the hiccups.
I know right? The hiccups? it's true, though. growing up I used to get the worst hiccups. every. single. day. and I tried everything. drinking water. holding my breath. having my brother scare the crap out of me. and then one day Nanny said to me "eat a spoon full of sugar". and I did.
It's the only thing that ever worked. and now I tell everyone who has the hiccups to eat a spoon full of sugar. I'm sure it's not something that she would ever have expected to be remembered for. and sure, there are alot of other memories I have of her. but this one is my favorite. and the most useful I might add. because like I said, my hiccups were the worst.
and tonight, my brother handed me a leather case and said "this is for you. grammy wanted you to have it. it belonged to nanny. well, the people who raised nanny." and wouldn't you know. when i opened that case it held nanny's old silverware.
spoons.
I'm so gratefull for that,
Thanks for reading!
Lana
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