Nana

Today would have been Nana's 91st birthday, had she lived this long. Unfortunately, she passed away last month. I haven't really written about her, as I had been mostly writing tributes to grandparents who had already passed on a while back. I wanted to honor her memory on her birthday by sharing some memories, thoughts, and photos.

I'll be honest in that I didn't really know much about Nana until her funeral. She wasn't all that talkative and when she did talk, it wasn't really to offer up any information about herself. All I really know is based on various moments with her and anything my parents told me. Papa Morrie usually held court whenever we visited with them, as he was loud and boisterous. My aunt later told me that after he passed away, Nana suddenly became more talkative.

Here's what I do know and remember:

*She liked to drink her tea very light. We called it "Nana Dips Once."

*She had this one favorite Chinese dish, but she could never remember the name of it or what it even contained.

*She always let my sister and me play with a box of costume jewelry when we were little.

*She made delicious brisket, as well as French toast when we slept over.

*She had a crush on Jimmy Smits at one point in time.

*Whenever we called her, she would say that she was just about to call us. She didn't really call us, so when she did, I always thought it was an emergency.

*When I went to Israel for Birthright, she was against it for a while. After I came back, I told my grandparents where I had been and while Papa was freaking out about it, she simply asked "how was it?"

*She lived to see my dad (her older son) turn 65 and also to meet all three of her great-grandchildren, including the one named after Papa.

*She didn't want to take her medication because she was afraid of the side effects.

*She won Bingo often at her nursing home.

*She raised her sons to be good, kind, and loving husbands and fathers (and grandfathers, in one case).

The following information is what I learned at her funeral:

*She loved to make seven-course Shabbat dinners and would stand around waiting for everyone to tell her how good the food was. I take after her in that I love to host Shabbat meals, even though my husband is the one who does most of the cooking and the one who is more concerned over what everyone thought.

*She thought she was younger than her age would indicate. This was especially true when it came to fashion, as she wouldn't wear "old people" shoes or "matronly" dresses. And here I am saying that 40 is the new 30 and still listening to 90s music.

*She watched the weather reports all the time in order to tell my dad and uncle how to dress and what to wear outside.

*She bowled in a league for 20 years. I always thought that only Papa bowled. It was nice to know that she did too. Another thing that we had in common that I didn't know about.

*She loved to read. I seriously never knew this. I don't remember seeing her sit with a book the way my maternal grandma did. She only had a few books in her house, from what I noticed. So maybe she got everything at the library? I really wish I had known this a long time ago because we could have bonded over books.

*She made a point of having dessert every night and her favorite was ice cream. Yet one more thing we had in common!

*She was involved at her synagogue and in the Jewish community. She also did Cub Scouts with my dad and was the leader of his troop. (Years later, my dad was tribal chief and then nation chief for Indian Princesses.)

Even though it was nice to learn so much about her for once, I wish it had been while she was still alive. If nothing else, I've learned to tell my kids (and future grandchildren, B"H) a lot about what I was like as a kid and even about the things I like to do now. I also want my parents and in-laws to do the same. It's so important to pass along legacies within a family.

Side note: I'm currently reading a book (THE LAST SUMMER AT CHELSEA BEACH), where the main character is in her late teens in the early 1940s. It makes me think of Nana because she would have been around that age at that same time. It makes me wonder if she was anything like the main character and what kinds of things she thought of or worried about at that time. I also wonder what it was like for her when she first met Papa Morrie. 

At her high school graduation (1942)

Around the time she married Papa Morrie (in the 1940s)

At my parents' wedding (1973)

With me as a baby (1976)

At my Bat Mitzvah (1989)

At my eighth grade graduation (1990)

On my 22nd birthday (1998)

At my wedding (2004)

November 2008

November 2008

With all her grandchildren (July 2010)

July 2010 (all three great-grandchildren are technically in this picture)

July 2010

September 2011

September 2011

With my dad and uncle on my dad's 65th birthday (May 2012)

May 2012