My 4 grandmas...

I had a huge family growing up. I didn't experience death of a super close relative until I became a teenager. My uncle died when I was about 8 yrs old, but I had only met him once, bc he was in the Navy and then sick in Florida until he died. My great grandmother died when I was little, and although I knew her more than I knew my uncle, we weren't super close either. Back to the point...I had 4 grandmas growing up. A lucky girl, I was...still am...my parents divorced when I was 3, and then my mom married my stepdad. I had my mom's parents, dad's parents, my stepdad's mom, and my stepdad's stepmom and dad. Try saying that 10 times fast! My mom's mom was Granny to us. FYI-her mom and mother in law were called "Old Granny" by all of us kids, lol. Granny was so special to me. Sweet, but would get our butts w a short belt strap if needed. Btw-I never felt that strap!! Granny had a collection of dolls. You know those expensive China dolls that you display in a cabinet, where no one touches them? Yep, that was her. My granny and papa had a den and a living room in their house. No one was allowed in the living room unless they were passing through. That's where she kept her dolls. She also had collections of "what-nots", that's what she called them. If she ever saw something and even commented on it being pretty or she liked it, my papa would bring it home to her. She never wanted to for anything materialistic bc my papa gave her everything she ever wanted. One of my fondest memories of Granny was when I was a child and I needed her great nursing skills. My sister and I were roller skating on the sidewalk and our skates tangled. I fell and scraped my knee badly. I spent 2 weeks at Granny's and Papa's house so that she could take care of me. That 2 weeks was filled w watching whatever I wanted on tv, eating ice cream, and having betadine and Neosporin applied regularly on my skinned up knee. I still have the scar. Granny had diabetes, had it before I was born, I think. It caused her to lose feeling in her fingers and toes, so badly that she didn't feel it when she scalded her foot w hot water, causing lots of damage and eventually, amputation up to her knee. My granny died on January 10, 2003, about a month before getting pregnant w Rianna. It really got to me. That was the 2nd time I lost someone so close to me...I wanted so badly for her to be able to meet Rianna. Rianna's middle name is Faith, bc Granny's favorite name in the world was Faith. She had said often that she loved it, and never knew how she had 3 daughters and never named them Faith. I miss her all the time. I had an "argument" with her when I was pregnant with Rianna, in my sleep. I was yelling at her for leaving me before she could meet Rianna. I remember David waking me up bc I was crying in my sleep. Her birthday is August 3rd, which is funny, bc 3 of the 4 have birthdays in August. Now about Grandma Bohler. My stepdad's stepmom. She ran a florist out of her house for years. She had such a talent, decorating dolls, stuffed animals, and different flower arrangements. I used to work with her during the summer and holidays. She taught me how to make arrangements look nice, how to compliment the different items in the arrangements, how less is more, and how to sell them. She didn't have to convince people to buy her stuff. They called her and ordered from her regardless. She was awesome. We had big family dinners and get togethers at their house a lot. She taught me how to make cornbread in a cast iron pan, chicken and dumplings, and other stuff. I always helped her clean her house, even though it was hardly ever dirty. I spent a lot of nights over there, especially when my grandpa had some heart attacks and was hospitalized. When Grandma broke her hip, more than once, I stayed with her. She eventually needed a lot more help. A lot of times, she would sleep in her chair in the living room, bc it was so hard for her to get up out of bed. At first, I slept in the spare bedroom. I then moved to the living room when it was apparent that she refused to wake me for help to the bathroom. I slept on the OLD pullout sofa...hard as bricks. After we figured that I would be spending lots of nights there to help out, we moved her day bed from the florist (decorated for looks, NOT for someone to be on) into the living room, in place of that couch. That became my bedroom. I would help Grandma go to the bathroom, get dressed, walk to the kitchen, and when she couldn't walk anymore, I would push her in her wheelchair wherever she needed to go. When I was 17, I left my mom's house. She had divorced my stepdad and I was mad about that, along with other stuff. I moved to Thomson, which was about 30 min from where my family was. One summer day, I was sitting at my friend's house and trying to figure out what I needed to do. I had gotten the call about my Grandma getting really bad, and having to be put in a nursing home. I decided to go see her, bc between leaving my mom's house, a job, and everything else, it had been a while since I'd seen her. I got down to the nursing home, where Grandpa told me that although.she couldn't speak anymore, she tried really hard to say my name. I stayed with her for hours, talking to her and crying, bc she couldn't talk to me. The next day, early that morning, I got the call that she had died in her sleep. My grandpa told me that it was bc she was waiting to see me. I am so glad that I went to see her when I did, bc I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if things had turned out differently. I miss her so much too. She died in the summer of '99. Her birthday is August 11th. I also have a Grandma Howard. I call her Grandma. Her name is Monna, which is a name I love. She is from Chattanooga, TN. She is my dad's mom. She has the most awesome singing voice; I've always loved to hear her sing. She is also an artist. She can paint, use pencil, charcoal, water colors, anything. Her work is amazing!!! There is a story behind each one, and I can listen to her talk about it all day long. Everything is better at her house, even just a sandwich. I do think she has a special touch with everything. Grandma was a very beautiful young woman, and she still is. I can see why my Pop fell in love with her. Grandma is a very soothing person. I remember when we were over there for Christmas when Rianna was a baby. She was a month old, and Grandma was holding her, singing, while everyone else talked. It was like they were the only 2 people in the entire world, and it was a beautiful moment. I wish I'd have gotten a pic of that. Grandma was the queen of cereal. One reason is bc my aunt, who's 9 yrs older than me, still lived at home when we were little. So breakfast for her was cereal, bc she was super picky. Cereal was not just reserved for breakfast; we ate a bowl of cereal before bedtime every time we spent the night there. We went grocery shopping with Grandma a lot. Grandma drilled grocery shopping rules into our heads, and I still follow them today. Never eat in the grocery store...you know, for instance, don't eat grapes while shopping. For one, they are sold by weight, but most importantly, bc they haven't been washed and everyone else probably stuck their hands in it. Also, wash your hands as soon as you come in the door after shopping. I love going to Grandma's and Grandpa's house. It's so comforting. Grandma's birthday is August 5th. Last, but definitely not least, is my Mawmaw. She is my stepdad's mom, and I've been super close to her since I was 4. I spent so much time there as a child, teenager, and I lived with her when I was a senior in high school. I could talk to Mawmaw about everything and anything. She had a yardstick that she would pop the kids with when they were bad, and again, I never felt the yardstick. When she had people over at her house, the grown ups would sit in the kitchen and talk, while the kids had to stay in the living room. I was always allowed to sit in the kitchen. I also drank coffee with Mawmaw when I stayed the night there. I enjoyed going to Mawmaw's house. When I had my back surgery, I was living there, and she took such good care of me. Mawmaw is now in a nursing home, and it breaks my heart. She has Alzheimer's and doesn't know who I am. But, when I go see her, she's in good spirits, so I try not to let her see my sadness. I miss the way she was...Mawmaw's birthday is April 16th. So that's the women in my life that I looked up to/loved and will love my entire life. I've thought at them, so I felt like I should introduce them...very special ladies to me.