Happy Birthday! (Round One)

Ninety years ago today, the best Meemaw in the entire universe came into this world and has been making it a better place ever since.

I'm so glad I get to spend this special day with her and the rest of our family.

I have tons of memories with her, but here is a very short list of my faves:
Camp Meemaw: Basically, a month every summer, her six angelic granddaughters invaded their home and kept them incredibly busy. (This probably helped to keep our mothers---her own children---sane.) We went to the zoo, rose garden, and she drove us down that hill no less than one million times every summer just so we could "coast".

The doll hospital incident: my precious doll, Talking Baby had to take a very special trip to see Meemaw for a few weeks one summer (where the doll hospital was) to have her eyes fixed (don't make fun; we were playing outside and she needed sunscreen). I was pretty sure I would die, but when Meemaw sent her back to me, she had made her a brand new dress and she had all new eyes. Pretty sure she hung the moon to my little 4 year old self.

Pimento cheese sandwiches: I am a pimento-cheese loving girl. One Thanksgiving, Meemaw had made more food than an entire US army could eat (and let's face it, that woman can freakin' cook!), yet I piped up asking for a pimento cheese sandwich. Without a second thought, she hopped up and before I knew it, I had that sandwich. I told you she's awesome.

"You are my sunshine": Before I learned the joys of sleeping until noon (or 1 or 2 PM), I woke up at the butt crack of dawn AKA between 7 and 8 AM. Every single Sunday without fail, I called Meemaw on Sunday mornings. If I didn't call, by 10 AM she was calling us wondering what happened. And without fail, before we ended that conversation, we sang "You are my sunshine" together. To add the icing on the cake, we still talk every week. Priceless, I tell you.

And last but not least, I'll never forget how much she cares about our success (both her kids and now us grandkids). Growing up, we got "good grade money" from them every time we got a report card. If I remember right, A's earned 5 bucks and B's were like 4. While B's definitely didn't disappoint her, no one wanted to call Meemaw and tell her we had made a B. When it came right down to it, no one worked that hard for the money; we all just wanted to make her proud.
(Sidenote: she has never once been disappointed in any of us when it comes to scholastics. Her only insistence is that we always do the absolute best we can.) Which bring another memory to mind. The one and only class I have failed in my entire life happened to be Physics 2. I knew after the first test there was no chance (a story for another post; ugh!), and every week when we talked, she asked about Physics. I was honest and told her it wasn't looking good but I was doing all I could. She kept telling me the idiot professor would come around and I'd "do better than I thought". It broke my heart to have to call her and tell her I failed. There were tears involved. Yet her first words were this: "Em, I know you did the best you could. And if that's all you did, then I'm proud. I'll never ever forget that." I'll also never forget the excitement in her voice when I called her a few months later and said "I GOT AN A IN THE CLASS I FAILED LAST SEMESTER!!!!!!!!" Her response was: "See, I knew you could do it!"

Those few moments don't even scratch the surface of the memories I've made with her. I can't imagine my life without her in it.

Even after she is called to Heaven, every single time I say or sign my middle name (I'm named after her), I will think of this incredible woman who means more to me than any stupid blog post could emulate.

I love you more than you'll ever know, dear Meemaw.