Nanny

The world lost a very cool lady yesterday.  My Nanny passed away at the age of 92 years old.  She was a woman with tremendous spirit, a wicked sense of humor, a big heart, and a desire to live life to the fullest each and every day.  She has been a major force in my life since day one.  It is hard to believe that she isn't here anymore but I know that I will carry her spirit with me always.

Nanny wasn't your conventional grandmother.  When I was growing up I heard stories of Nanny putting my cousins, Kyle and Lori, in trashcans filled with water so that they could bob up and down on hot summer days.  Come to find out this was also her method of getting them to stop fighting with one another.  While I never got the trashcan treatment, I did get her unique brand of grandmothering.  She let me draw faces and make little grass skirts for her dancing thumb.  In reality, she was double jointed in her hands and was able to make her thumb pop in and out of place.  She said it was dancing.  I believed her.  On days when she would babysit me we would play beauty parlor.  She would let me do her hair, paint her nails, and put on make-up.  Looking back I made her look like a drag queen but she never complained.  In fact, she would pose proudly for photos.   Those photos are sadly back in Maryland so I can't share my brilliant work with you all. 

We made bunny cakes for Easter.  We ate McDonald's
 hamburgers and hot fudge sundaes (with no nuts) on trips.  We told one-word-at-a-time stories (once upon a time the goose drank wine) and played tickle arm at sleepovers.  She taught me silly songs that she made up when she was a kid.  These songs are ingrained in my head and will forever be a reminder of her sense of humor.  She loved to dance, make silly faces, and make people smile.  Nanny was fun.

Looking back so many of my "good" stories involve Nanny in some way or another.  I know this is true for anyone who has ever came in contact with her.  Minnie and the teeth, me and the pig,  Nanny and the McDonald's horse are some that quickly come to mind and make me smile.   I can remember her voice, gestures, and colorful language.  If you have heard these stories then you know what the Nanny impression looks/sounds like.

Over the past decade a lot about Nanny changed but the one thing that remained the same was her desire to get out and live life.  She was strong-willed.  She was a fighter.  She was trying to overcome all of the challenges that life gave her.  I wish that I could put into words how much Nanny means to me and how much I am going to miss her.  Sadly, there aren't words.  The world was a little more exciting because of Nanny.  I'm lucky to have been her granddaughter.

Nanny's viewings will be on Wednesday from 2:00pm - 4:00pm and from 6:00pm- 8:00pm at Huntt Funeral Home in Waldorf.  Please visit their website if you would like to leave condolences.