Have you ever known one of those people in the world that just got you? As if no matter what you were thinking or feeling, they always seemed to understand and could just make everything better? My grandmother, my “meme” was like that for me. My momma was her baby, the youngest of six children, and I was the baby of the family, her youngest grandchild…and I’ll go ahead and say it, her favorite! As a child I spent SO much time with her. She lived not far from us and every Saturday night was spent at her house. My entire family, aunts, uncles and cousins, would gather and have dinner. After dinner, all the adults would play cards, all the older kids would go downstairs and be “cool” (whatever that meant), which left me in the living room with my Pipi Longstocking tape and my meme by my side. She never complained for having to watch it over and over and over with me, she just sat with me and made me feel special.
As I grew older, she moved from Atlanta down to Gulf Shores, Alabama and her and my papa lived in the cutest beach house that was so perfect for them! Mom and I would go there anytime I had time off of school and I would go visit in the summers. I never really loved the beach, I just loved being with her. I loved that there was always a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting waiting for me when I got there because she knew it was my favorite! Or how she’d make me homemade buisicuts and gravy for breakfast and her famous mac n’ cheese for dinner. I loved how she would let me get away with things that my momma never would and how she’d always make everything okay. She was my hero…still is.
When she died, I was 17 and I just remembering feeling like life just wasn’t fair. I remember being upset at all my older cousins, who had much more time with her than I did, that they never treasured her like they should’ve. (I realize now that that probably wasn’t really the case, they were simply older and their relationships with her were just different.) I cried and cried and felt like a chunck of my heart had died with her. I’d lost gradparents before, but with her it was just different. I don’t think I have ever truly gotten over her death, nor do I think I ever will or want to. I’d give anything in the world to talk to her now, as an adult and a soon to be mother. I look back at her life and realize what a strong woman she really was and how much she over came in her years. She inspires me still to be a good person and I can only hope one day that my grandchildren will think of me as I thought of her.
So, two weeks ago when my mom came to me and said, “look was your uncle and I found in a book,” I was so happy to see her young face. I knew that I needed to spend the time and restore it and I am SO glad that I did! I never knew that she was a “magician”, (which just makes me laugh) but I always knew she was magical. This picture will soon be framed and hanging for all to see!
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