Memorial To My Nanny (From An Old Blog)

If you have never experienced Alzheimer's up close I pray you never have to. It is a devastating disease that eventually steals everything from whoever has it.

With that being said, let me tell you my story and my Nanny's story. I am the fourth of eight grandchildren. My grandmother loved each one of us dearly and showed us that love as much as she could. My three brothers and I were fortunate to grow up most of our lives within a two hour drive of our Nanny and Pop-pop. She was there for our birthdays, special events, and other times when she just wanted to spend time with her daughter and best friend. She would come spend a week at our house and make us fried chicken, eat the vegetables off of my plate (because we couldn't have dessert unless we cleaned our plates), she would scratch our backs whenever we asked, and tuck us in at night.

My brothers and I loved Lego's while we were growing up. I think that Nanny and Pop-pop kept the Lego Company in business buying Lego's for us. That was my Nanny's style. She would do anything she could for each of us. She loved with an everlasting love.

I grew up being watched by Nanny when we spent time at her house in the summer or when Mom and Dad were going somewhere without us. She would come and stay with us and keep us from hurting each other (which could be a struggle with four boys). Life continued its steady march and things started changing. Several years ago Nanny was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and the one who used to do the watching was now the one being watched.

Mom quit her job, we moved to the Eastern Shore, Nanny and Pop-pop sold their home, they moved back to the Eastern Shore, and Mom helped Pop-pop take care of Nanny. They worked tirelessly to provide a loving and safe environment for Nanny. We spent every day together, for years, eating dinner and just being a family before it was time for a safer place in the nursing home. Nanny went down hill quickly in the past two years to the point that if you could get any reaction from her at all it was a good day. Even through all of this I still count myself as lucky because I knew her and had a special relationship with her. I could always get a smile from her without fail and from that simple yet profound action I knew that I was loved.

Nanny was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, a friend, and most importantly a child of God. We can take heart that we will be with her again in Heaven if we are followers of Christ. Romans 10:9-10 says:

9 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. 10 We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we declare with our mouths that we believe, and so we are saved.

Nanny I love you so very much and will miss you greatly.