My grandmother, (or "Memaw" as her grandchildren called her), was unlike any person I had ever known in my life. This was a woman who married young, had four children, and raised those children by herself after her husband died in the 60's, at a time when being a single mother was unheard of. Her strength and the love she had in her heart for the people she had in her life was unmatched.
Out of my four grandparents, Memaw was really the only one I had a relationship with. Her husband, Jack Haley, had died long, long before I existed; my father's father, JT, was not a nice man and certainly didn't care to have a relationship with his grandchildren; and my sweet Grammy's mind was taken by Alzheimer's long before I was old enough, so she had no idea who I was. Memaw, therefore, was my sole matriarch. She was my source of wisdom.
Here are things I will remember my Memaw for:
- The color purple
- Her love of fleece
- Bright pink lipstick on her teeth
- Her big hair
- Her "rain hat" (aka, a plastic grocery bag)
- Squirrels ;)
- Her love of watching the birds
- Her brutal honesty
- Her stubbornness
- Her laugh
- Her wicked sense of humor
- Her kind heart
- Her generosity
- Her devotion to her family
- Her devotion to her friends
- Her love of flowers
- Teaching me the value of travel and experience
- Her curiosity
- Pinot Grigio
- Bird legs
- Hopping waves
- Seashells
- Hummingbirds
- Practicality
- Space and Stardust
She left such an imprint on my life, that a hole will forever remain. My last moment with Memaw, when she was still lucid, she held my hand in her purple bedroom and told me that she was proud of me. That is the greatest gift I could have ever asked for from her. She left my life on January 2, 2013, and I will spend the rest of my life remembering her and thinking "What Would Memaw Do?" Memaw, you were, and continue to be, such an influence on me. I miss you and think of you everyday. If there is a heaven, I hope it is filled with hummingbirds, purple flowers, and "handsome hunks" serving you your pinot grigio. I love you.
