Birthday Girl and her Life Lessons

 Yesterday was this sweet woman's 88th birthday (I started this post yesterday and didn't get a chance to post it.  Look at me defending my belated-ness)  

Anywho, isn't she beautiful? And I am blessed to be able to call her Gramma. (That's how she spells it. Isn't that cute?)

I have always felt overwhelmingly blessed to have grandparents well into my adult years. Even today, at 39, I'm grateful to have both grandmothers still in my life.

But back to this spunky woman who has taught me many life lessons. I thought I'd share a few...

1.  Always eat dessert....eat it first if possible. This is a lesson I learned VERY early from her.  My childhood summers included CHOCOLATE GRAVY on homemade biscuits most mornings.  Yep, none of that savory sauce on her buttermilk biscuits.  Good ol' rich, sugary, sweet chocolate.  [I think Mama Claudia still cringes at the thought of this].  

Christmas 2012.  In this picture, she finished off
everyone's unwanted desserts. And she's SUPER happy about it!

Now pay attention because here's the other part of this life lesson...Employ strategies to execute your dessert intake.  VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.  Do your best to hide it from everyone....at least for a little while.  In other words, put a little, tiny serving of things on your plate, push them around a bit, declare you're full, wait the requisite amount of time and THEN make sure you have dessert.  This is very strategic people!  And Gramma is the master.  Another option is to make sure you sneak in a few bites of candy or sweets before the meal is served.  This is especially helpful during the holidays when all of the desserts are in free range display.  

2.  Make everything a competition.  Don't be shy about it either.  Feel free to declare your dominance or future winning to all of those victims that are soon to meet their plight.  Take delight in your winning by laughing, emphasizing the size of your lead and your utter surprise at how badly your opponents are losing.  Oh yes, that sweet woman, pictured above????  She WILL.CRUSH.YOU if given the chance. Yep.  It's true.  (See, Sweet Sarah?  I come by it honestly.)  Card games (She and my grandfather used to keep a monthly tally of their wins/losses).  Board Games (I believe they wore out a few Aggravation boards) Walking somewhere. (She doesn't like you to be in front)  The prettiest garden?  (She kept mental score of how she compared to others on the block)  The greenest grass? (Had it been appropriate, she might've been a greenskeeper at a golf course) She is always keeping score.  

She will also cheat if necessary. (see dessert techniques/strategies above).


3.  Don't sit for long.  There's always something to fret over or myrtle with.  Busy. Busy.  Busy body. This woman may have coined the term.  [It's also probably why she's been 110 pounds her entire life!]

Dancing with my handsome nephew.

4.  Devotion.  Gramma was the model of a devoted wife.  She loved and doted and preened and picked and faithfully served Poppy until his last breath.  Ok, I am not exaggerating here.  Seriously.  She combed his hair after every shower.  Picked out his clothes every day.  Made every meal [many a good shopping trip was cut short early because we had to get back to make Poppy's dinner].  

This is on an Alligator Boat Ride in the Everglades of Florida in 2001.   

Though I have no desire to fix Sweet Sarah's hair after every shower or pick out her garanimals [do they still make those?], I can only hope to be as devoted and loving as Dessie was to Hurshell.

4.  Be a daredevil, even when it makes others uncomfortable.   No doubt I have a bit of this in me.  We grew up hearing stories about Gramma, a self-confessed pyro, catching a hay mow on fire in the family barn and months later burning an entire hay field pre-harvest just because she "wanted to see what it would do".  There was the time she decided to ride an unbroken horse bareback and her mother had to lift the clothesline so Dessie wouldn't be decapitated on the runaway horse.  We've all ridden in the car with her when she declared she was going to try and take a country corner without stepping on the brake. [I've slid across the backseat of a Buick more times than I can remember with her at the wheel]

5.  Don't be afraid to cry, wearing your feelings on your sleeve is ok.  Every arrival and departure from their house in Tennessee meant Gramma would cry.  She wasn't shy about her happiness or sadness.

6.  Laugh with others and at yourself.  No doubt the Spann's know how to laugh, in good part because of her influence.

What a GREAT laugh!

Given time, I can come up with a few more life lessons from this sweet, sweet woman.  She holds a special place in all of our hearts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRAMMA!!!

THE (partial) SPANN CLAN