Nanny

So, My Nanny is turning 90 years old this month! My two sisters and I are travelling to Newfoundland to celebrate with her. I looked at several different stores but I still haven't been able to find a 90th Birthday Card. But that's the wonderful thing about my Nanny, she doesn't want a fuss made and she will appreciate just having her family around her. She isn't overly concerned with presents and gifts.

I was lucky enough to grow up just 5 minutes away from Nanny. I actually lived with her for a whole year when my mom and dad first got a divorce. My nanny took over when my mom was working a lot. She cooked and cleaned for me and my sister. She taught us how to cook and took me to my first brownies meeting. My nanny has 5 children, 13 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren but she always makes time for each one of us and makes us feel special.

Growing up I had a lot of health problems and my Nanny always had a way of making me feel better. For a sore throat she would make me honey, lemon and ginger tea. If I had a bleed she would let me have a sleepover with my cousin Sara and we would make our famous peanut butter and gum drop rice krispie squares. 

Nanny had a special remedy for everything and always managed to make me feel better no matter what. She has been a huge source of strength for all of us. Each grandchild has their own special memories of her. My sister would love it when she would take her for chips and pop and they would sit by the ocean and snack and chat.

I always loved how cool and calm she would be when she visited me in the hospital. She would come in with a bag full of snacks and her navy blue coat on. She could poke her head in at the desk and find out which room I was in. I could always see her from across the hall and I would breathe a sign of relief when I saw her coming because I felt like everything would be ok.

I pray my Nanny has a great birthday. I hope she knows how loved she is and how grateful we are for her! Happy 90th Birthday Nanny!

Miracles from Heaven

So, I was watching the movie Miracles from Heaven. It took me about 4 days to watch it because I had to turn it off and wait a day before I could start again. It really hit home for me and it broke my heart. The movie is about a little girl who gets sick and spends a lot of time in the hospital and the impact it has on the whole family. I spent a year in the Janeway Childrens Hospital when I was 12 years old. When I think about that time in my life I think about my mother. 

She had a way of being in the hospital with me and making it feel like it was normal. She didn't act like we were victims, or we were enduring hardships. She just complained about the hospital food and fell asleep in a big recliner next to me and made it seem like it was just another day. I never heard her complain about all the work she was missing, all the money it was costing her and all the time she had to spend sitting in a chair watching me cry in pain, watching me get sicker and sicker and watching doctors poke and prod at me every day.

I am grateful for that time in a small way because it showed me the absolute best side of my mother. She really rose to the occasion and couldn't of handled the situation any better. 

I always think of the time mom and her best friend Gwen went out for supper and then they came to the hospital to say good night to me. Mom could tell I was a bit down so she asked me to go for a wheelchair ride. She pushed me around the old Janeway hospital until we got to a small play area. Mom parked my chair and started playing with some of the toys to entertain me. She crawled in this little play house and I finally smiled. We could hear footsteps coming down the hall so mom tried to get out but she was stuck in the little play house. We laughed so hard but mom still couldn't get out so she reached her hand out and closed the door until the people in the hallway passed. I can still picture her squeezed into that little play house trying not to laugh. I could blog all day about how wonderful my mom was to me. Shes not feeling well now and I feel so helpless. I wish I could cheer her up like she did for me all those years.