I quote her almost daily:
When the weather is bad: “Mother Nature, she’s the boss.”
When time seems to be going by so fast: “All I do is flip calendar sheets.”
When it’s raining hard: “It’s raining cats and dogs and hammer handles.”
When I comb my hair in the morning: “Brush your teeth and comb your hair and you’ll look like a millionaire.”
I admit the memories these days make me smile before they bring tears but the passing of time only makes memories of Nana more precious.
As Nana grew older, I felt the urgency to always make sure she knew how much I appreciated and loved her. Since we lived a distance apart, I frequently chose letters to express how I felt.
I’m sharing two different letters I sent to Nana on two different Mother’s Days. By the way, since I was a little girl, I always called Nana Mommy. No matter how silly it may have sounded, she was always Mommy to me, even when she was Nana or Grammy to her grandchildren.
The first letter is from May 3, 2015 when Nana was 91 years old. I sent the letter after an early Mother’s Day celebration with her. I didn’t know then that one day after Mother’s Day that year, Nana would fall and break her hip, pelvis and her ankle. She spent a week in the hospital, 100 days in a nursing home and a month in Assisted Living. In September of 2015, I took her home to her beloved apartment. She was able to stay there for almost three more years. Her recovery and desire to live on her own were testaments to Nana’s strength and strong will.
July 2018 she entered Watsontown Nursing and Rehab Center because she had to be in a wheelchair.
Here’s the first letter:
May 3, 2015
Dear Mommy,
I hope you enjoyed celebrating Mother’s Day a bit early. Although May 10th is Mother’s Day, I think every day is Mother’s Day. Every day, I’m grateful for our conversations on the phone. Every day, I’m grateful that you are healthy enough to live on your own. Every day, I’ m grateful we get to spend in-person time together each month.
As you celebrate Mother’s Day, you can be proud that you’ve raised four good kids. We’re all pretty smart, decent human beings—you’ve never had to bail any of us out of jail. We all either go to church or, at least, believe in God, (that last one’s me.) After watching you all our lives as our role model, we’ve all worked hard—though never as hard as you had to work. We never had to feed sopping wet, heavy clothes through a wringer washer or work a grueling factory job while getting paid only a few dollars per hour. But we’ve all done ok. We’ve had good jobs and worked our way into retirement, or semi-retirement (that last one’s me.)
Also like you, we love our kids and would do anything to help them. Even enduring severe poverty during our childhoods, you made sure all of us kids had good food to eat, clothes to wear, and that we all graduated from high school. That last part was no easy task with Wayne, but he made it. Now our kids not only graduated from high school, but most went on to college. You started that.
So take some time on Mother’s Day to take credit for all the good you’ve done and that you still do. Even in your 90’s, you’re showing all of us courage and determination and the will to keep going. In my later years, I hope I can be like you.
In the meantime, I look forward to many more years of trips to The Fence, to Wendy’s, to Dollar General and to the Weis Store. As I think about it, I must get my love of ‘running around’ from you—and that’s ok with me.
Like the card says, I’m proud to be your daughter.
Love and hugs, Diane
The next letter is from the last Mother's Day I got to celebrate with Nana. But I couldn't celebrate in person. Mother's Day May 2020 was during the Covid Pandemic. Phone calls and letters were my only source of communication with Nana.
Here's my letter:
May 7, 2020
Hi Mommy,
I’m writing you another letter so I make sure you get lots of mail. I hate that we’re not allowed to visit because of this nasty virus, but we’ll get through this together even though we’re apart.
With Mother’s Day being Sunday, I was thinking about how much you’ve taught me and how much I’m like you. And I consider that a good thing.
We were talking on the phone the other day about how I make to-do lists every day. That’s something I learned from you. You were always making lists for the grocery store, for cards for holidays and for gifts you received.
Speaking of gifts, you always sent a note of thanks for gifts. You get a pass on that now because your hands are too arthritic and we all understand that. So now you thank everyone via phone and that’s so nice too.
That’s an example of how you’ve always been grateful and thankful for all the blessings in your life. I try to model that too. It’s easy to get negative about everything, especially during the time we’re dealing with this awful virus. But when we look at the world one day at a time, we can always find something good.
Another trait of yours that I inherited is that I always make sure I’m on time, even early, for all my appointments. We both hate to be late for anything!
You always thought ahead to be stocked up on groceries. Everything from toilet paper and Kleenex to KitKats.We both like to make sure we don’t run out of any important stuff!
I think I’ve also inherited your love of sweets! I like my candy too and think of you every time I have a chunk of chocolate or some M & M’s.
Here we are – just 2 peas in a pod!
Diane and Nana February 2020
I guess that's the end of my news today. I'll be calling you every day as usual. We'll visit as soon as the stupid virus is gone. Just be safe and well.
Love and Hugs, Diane
The picture of Nana and I was from the last visit where I was able to see her in person. When I said goodbye to her on February 8th, 2020, I didn't know it would be the last time I could touch her. The last time I could give her a hug and kiss.
Happy Mother's Day in Heaven Nana.
Thank you for all the memories you left me. You'll never be forgotten.
