Y’ALL! I had a dream about my sweet Granny the other night. It was one of those dreams you don’t want to end. Granny left us a few years back but she is still here. She is in my cousin’s voice, my Mom’s handwriting, both of Aunt’s manner of conversation (once you get pulled in, you stay and listen awhile), my smile, and all of our hearts.

In this dream we were just spending time with one another driving around in one her Cadillacs that were too big for her but couldn’t hold her personality. This 5 foot nothing lady could handle anything, well, as long as there was a phone book underneath her in the driver’s seat. Anyways, I remember visualizing old fashioned dress patterns in the seat and lots of coins in the “ashtray” up front. The cadillac was the color of home made vanilla ice cream.

• Granny taught me how to drive – I was 10 and it was in a cemetary. The reason was because, according to her, if she had a heart attack and I was with her, I could take us to the hospital. The cemetary was, well, because she said I couldn’t kill anybody there.
• All leftovers, of any kind, could be made into a sufficiant pot of soup that could feed an army – My only advice was, at that time, to avoid salmon croquette day but I sure could crumble up some fresh cornbread in any other pot that would sit on the stove.
• Value EVERYONE – This woman made herself comfortable as well as everyone else in any situation. She never changed who she was, with the exception of her outfit maybe, and you always felt important with her, like you were the only one in the room.

Fun Fact! My Granny used to work for Johnny Cash back in her Nashville days. Told y’all she was cool.

• Wear matching underwear – This is something I attempt to do ’till this day. The rationale behind this was in case we were ever in an accident, we presented well at the emergency room?
• Keep EVERYTHING in the refrigerator or freezer, from cigarettes to jewelry, one can’t be too careful – I truly think this came from her humble beginnings in houses without indoor plumbing, out houses (I had to use one as a little girl at her brother’s house once!), no air conditioning and other things like that. Keeping food safe from bug infestation and rodents was a priority and if you had a refrigerator, it was like a safe. I remember one day finding a pack of cigarettes in her freezer. I was shocked but she told me they were not hers and that answer was good enough for me:)
• Disney movies are just better on Granny’s floor with a pallet made of blankets – Granny loved Disney movies, especially Mary Poppins and I still watch it when I need a hug from her.
• That I cannot stand bananas till this day – This memory has stuck with me for nearly 50 years. One of the times my Granny was brave enough to keep me and my cousin for a few days…at the same time (there is a back story here lol but me and my beautiful cousin get along swimmingly, now, even though she still hasn’t forgiven me for the whole Santa Claus thing yet). Anyways, we got sick! So sick our pallets got moved to the bathroom! The next day, Granny had some medicine she gave us that I immediately projectile vomited all over the kitchen. It was banana flavored and I still cannot eat a banana till this day.
• “Things always have a way of working out” – I was a worrier, still am but Granny was right, things do have a way of working out. If Granny had two nickels to rub together, she would give 9 cents to someone who needed it. She saw good times, bad times, and times that would flat out make a grown man cry, but she made it through with her famous smile and that soft voice that could be heard around the world. She helped me truly believe that things really do have a way of working out.
• And the last one for today, she would always be there whenever I needed her – Like many youngins, I had a rough time. I was sarcastic, sad, and always felt like the ugly duckling. I would go to my Granny’s quite a bit and she helped me find my confidence. She cried with me, gave me my first sip of brandy, and always made me feel just as good as anyone else.

I wasn’t there the day she died but my Aunt placed her phone next to her ear so I could be with her. I couldn’t believe I would never hear her say “hey there, darlin’ ” again. All I could think about was how lucky I was that she was my Granny; this beautiful woman who road across Texas on a motorcycle, wore Chanel #5 to the grocery store, could make a discount dress wear better than anything from Nieman Marcus (and you never could tell either:), dated a Congressman, raised three beautiful girls, worked in the fields as a young girl, and could make the world smile, was my Granny.

Five months later, I was laying in intensive care at Emory University hanging on by a thread and my sister was sitting with me. It was a beautiful view from my window but I kept wondering why does this particular building in view look so familiar? You see, I spent many of my younger years living in Atlanta and both my mother and Granny worked for Emory at one time. My sister looks at me and smiles and told me that building was where Granny’s office used to be.

She was right, she really would always be there whenever I needed her.

I love and miss you everyday Granny!