Everything England: Happy Birthday Grandma!

Last weekend we celebrated my grandma's 80th birthday. It was a BLAST. We had a party for her on Saturday and had a brunch on Sunday. At the brunch we were asked by my aunt (who planned the celebration) to prepare a memory of Grandma.

My grandma is my dad's mother. She has 10 children. Eight girls and two sons. All but one of her children attended. It was so heart warming to see her so happy and see the rest of the family. I was able to see my cousins I hadn't seen in a while. They are all closer to Nealy's age and it was so cute to see them all together.

My grandma has been such a great inspiration to me.
Here is the memory I wrote about: (NOTE to readers: "Ya acavaste?" means "Are you finished?"

I have so many wonderful memories of Grandma. I remember making trips to Goree from Dallas with her and listening to New Kids on the Block. She would sing along to the chorus (although I knew it was the first time she ever heard the song) and Priscilla and I thought it was so cool and funny. She would even let us drive when we got to the long “straight away” roads in the country. Fun times! The memory I hold close to my heart and I think about frequently is when we stayed with her while my dad went to Korea over the summer. I can’t remember how old I was or even what year it was but, the memory stays strong in my mind. Every night I would sleep in the bed with Grandma. The first night I slept with her I could hear her whispering her prayers. Well, at the time I’d rather talk. I would get a little impatient waiting for her to finish so we could talk. Every few minutes I would ask, “Ya acavaste?” and she would say, “uh uh.” This was the routine for just a few nights. Soon after she took the time to talk to me about the power of prayer. She told me not a night went by that she didn’t pray to God. So I figured I would pray also. It beat having to anxiously wait for her to be done to start chatting away. Although praying wasn’t a new concept for me, Grandma really brought it to a new level and prayer became part of my everyday life and continues to be so. I looked forward to our prayer time and talks afterward. I prayed for everything under the sun…my cat, my George Michael cassette, my cabbage patch dolls, and of course the obvious, my family and friends. Every now and then, I would still ask “Ya acavaste?” and she would say, “uh uh” most of the time. I really got into praying and even one night Grandma asked ME, “Ya acavaste?” and I am the one who replied, “uh uh.” I will continue to hold this memory close to my heart. I will hold all the memories of Grandma close to my heart and share them at any given opportunity. That entire summer was one that could never be forgotten. Grandma not only taught me something very important that summer she made the time fun. She would bring herself down to my level and made such an impact. As an adult, I realize how building bonds with children was so natural for her. I witness it today with the little ones in the family. I have learned so much from her. Thank you grandma for loving me and taking the time to teach me about life. I love you and Happy Birthday!