Nana News: Happy Mother's Day to Nana in Heaven

Happy Mother's Day in Heaven to Nana. I miss her every day so, although this is a Holiday to commemorate, it's really just another day. Another day of wishing I could still call her, wishing I could still visit her, wishing I could see her smile and hear her voice again.

I didn't take Nana's presence in our lives for granted. I knew we were so fortunate to have her for so many years. But that doesn't take away the grief of her loss. If anything, the emptiness she left has only made me more in awe of the life she led. She faced so much sadness, abuse and daunting challenges that would've struck down most of us. She experienced a childhood filled with poverty and alcoholism. But somehow she still found a way to eek out some pleasant memories, a long time connection with school mates, a warm bond with her sisters and brothers and compassion for her bed-ridden mother and disappointing father.

Nana's married life started during World War II. I'm sure in her youthful optimism she felt she and Daddy could face anything together. Which is why, at 19, she bravely made the solo journey to Austin, Texas to be as close to him as possible. Then the move to Rolla, Missouri that followed months later must have given her pause but it didn't dim her resolve. From the pictures during those months, I saw a glimpse of the love between Nana and Daddy that existed before the horrors of war and the shadow of alcohol changed Daddy - and Nana - forever.

For Nana, raising four kids while struggling in poverty and dealing with an alcoholic husband must have felt like revisiting her childhood. Like then, she did the best she could in her situation. Watching Nana work so hard at a grueling factory job in addition to all her household chores, my brothers and sister and I had a model for hard work and perseverance in front of us every day. Nana was the one we could count on. For lunch money, delicious home cooking, rides to the store and discipline when we needed it. Although I was grown before I realized it, being a Mother was Nana's first priority.

On this Mother's Day, I'm celebrating being Nana's daughter and grateful for having this brave, sweet, and wonderful woman as my mother.