11-7-13 RMB Happy Birthday Nana Lou
Dear Rita Mae Brown,
Today is Nana Lou’s birthday, my mom,
my friend, and in her last year, often my Sunday morning breakfast mate. I’d go
up to Orange County on weekends to help my sister by hanging out with our mom.
On Sunday mornings, ever the early riser, Mom would be ready to be taken out to
breakfast. The two of us would get in the car and drive a few blocks to the
local restaurant.
This time together was special because
it was just the two of us. It was also Rita’s only time to be in the house
without worrying about what mom might need or how she might be feeling, making
it a special time for her to regroup and regenerate.
In anyone else’s care, mom would have
been left alone and probably amused herself or simply rested her last days
away. Rita, however is a supreme caretaker. Mom was brought out to the living
room to sit and watch shows with the family or do puzzles or at least be in
sight, so Rita could ask often if she needed anything, refresh her iced tea,
tuck in her blankets, you name it.
As Rita ran circles around us all, Mom would joke to me, “She tires me out. I need to go lay
down.” When her circulation lessened to the
point that she was always cold, it was Rita that warmed up her jammies in the
dryer before bedtime.
On our breakfast dates I was reminded
of what made this woman so special. She looked at the world with wonder in her
eyes. Other people fascinated her and she had a smile for each one that crossed
her path. She chatted with everyone as if she had met up with an old friend. She
loved colors, the brighter the better and her wardrobe reflected that. These
days, my niece teases my Rita, her mom, by telling her she is turning into Nana
Lou as her clothing lights up with more colors than ever before.
Perhaps we are both becoming more like
her as we age, although you won’t find me wearing purple and pink, people are
becoming interesting, especially as my fiction writing moves along. I see
aspects of individuals that I previously overlooked and I understand part of
what fascinated her so.
And best of all, we are all beginning
to look at the world with wonder in our eyes.
Happy Birthday to Nana Lou,
Loraine
No comments:
Post a Comment