Milestones...part 2

Today is my Nana's birthday, she is 78 yrs. old. Besides my mother, she is the other constant in my and my sisters lives and I am thankful for that. We all have kids now and men folk, but at the end of the day it all started out with just us girls. Throughout my life I have taken great effort to learn and appreciate my history as a Black woman in this country. I've seen every episode of "Eyes on the Prize", read countless books, took college courses and viewed "Roots" more than once. With all that, nothing has embodied the spirit and strength of what it means to be a Black woman in this country more then the example set by her. When I was a kid she seemed larger than life. Spirit never broken, head never bowed. Obviously, she experienced trying times, but she never let it show. Before she retired she never missed a days work and she was never late. She always had her own money and bought herself whatever she wanted, but has never been careless with money, she worked too hard for it. She always dressed with pride and took great care in how she presented herself (she still does). When her hair wasn't did she would turn to an impressive cache of wigs(I wore my 1st. hairpiece at about 8 yrs. old). She has "church" clothes and always wears a hat to church. Playing dress up in her closet and drawers as a kid was a sheer treat. She makes a cake we call the "yellow cake" which there is no real recipe for and her sweet potato pie is legendary. She taught us how to learn about the world by setting the example of reading the newspaper everyday. To this day though her eyesight is not what it used to be she reads the paper and does the crossword puzzle. I read the paper everyday because of her. Even though her education stopped early in her life, she is by far one of the smartest people I know. There is no person or event local or world wide that she doesn't know something about. Every baby born into our family, including cousins, nieces and nephews have been through the right of passage called "lay that baby on Momma's bed". She hums church songs and uses terms of endearment like "sugarfoot". She has been the silent contributor to many a college fund, funeral bill and even a bail bonds man or two. She takes pride in her southern roots and we are therefore proud to be country. She has attended the same church in NY for 40 years and still contributes to the church in her childhood community in the south.
Now, I would be remiss if I didn't fess up that she is a tough old broad, but that's okay she has seen enough that we can give her that. You try living through segregation/jim crow, northern migration, prejudice, sexism, widowdom and cancer. You might have an attitude sometimes too. Of course we worry about her now as she has gotten older and her list of ailments grows longer, but I am thankful that she still has her right mind and her wit. Many people don't get to grow up with their grandparents so I know how lucky I am. I know how lucky my kids, niece and nephew are to have a great-grandparent to love and be loved by.

Happy Birthday Momma, I love you.