|
Amazing Grace
I can't bring myself to wash and
put away those teacups. They're sitting in my dining room
wrapped in newspaper in plastic bins. Normally I love hand
washing fine china, lovingly drying it, and seeing it sparkle on
the shelf. I enjoy arranging and stacking them, and nesting
treasures amongst my shabby chic teacup collection.
But these are Granny's teacups. I've inherited every precious
one because last weekend my Granny passed away.
Born Grace Ina Badenoch in Canada, she became Grace Nurse when
she married my grandfather Elwood Nurse, who beat her to the
pearly gates by over 20 years. Her "claim to fame" was that she
was a nurse by profession as well as a Nurse by marriage. In the
hospitals and offices she served, the call: "Nurse Nurse" was
often heard over the intercom.
Her hands were worn from years of washing dishes by hand in the
sink. I learned to love washing dishes by hand from Granny, as
we would lean against the counter and chat over our chores. She
folded those hands in prayer every day for me and for each
member of her family.
Granny's hair has been white for as long as I can remember and
she looked younger than her 96 years. When anyone would
compliment her, shouting rather loudly into her ear: "Granny,
you look nice today," she would wave her hand and reply
matter-of-factly, "I know," which always tickled my funny bone.
If you've ever wondered where I got my bossy streak, look no
further than Granny. "What's going on with your hair?" she would
ask me when my hair cut was past-due. "Well I don't like it" she
would say to my explanation. The moment we would pull up to a
store or restaurant, she'd hardly give you time to park the car
before she threw open the door and began climbing out, as if to
say "let's go; we're wasting time!" Yes, I come from a long line
of bossy women.
In 2000, my family took a Mexican Riviera cruise and Granny was
my cabin-mate. It was on that cruise I (and my whole family) met
Trevor Norris, my husband. She would stride with her cane to
breakfast each morning and deliver a "Vicki report" as to what
time I got back to the cabin the prior night. Months later as we
shared tea at her apartment and talked, she declared: "I like
that Trevor boy." I knew I had her seal of approval.
No family gathering was complete without Granny. Every Christmas
we shared our treasured family events for the ladies of the
family: our holiday high tea and our cookie party. Even when
confined to a wheelchair in recent years, she was an active part
of my life and present at all special events. My Granny Goose.
Last night, Trevor and I sat in front of our fireplace going
through family historical records. Beyond two generations, we
did not know anyone's name or relevance, yet pages and pages of
names and dates were accumulated in the family records. Sadly,
Grannies and granddaughters and their special bonds will be
completely forgotten. Mothers and sons, brothers and sisters,
husbands and wives; all these intimate relationships will blow
away with the winds of time.
We concluded that our main goal in life will be to fulfill our
purpose and pour ourselves into our loved ones and to make an
impact in their lives. We will live out our calling and our
gifts and our dreams, because our time here is short. We hope
that our life and faith and love will live inside our sons, and
that they will, in turn, invest the same into their families,
passing down our values and passions. I've come to realize that
the only way any of us can make a long-term difference--to
really leave our "footprint" behind on these sands of life--is
to leave a legacy.
I'm going to attempt to live each day with this perspective in
mind. I think I'm going to wash those teacups this weekend and
think about how I can activate Granny's legacy of faith and love
through my own life. Here's to creating a life of purpose and
legacy and to Amazing Grace.
~Vicki Norris
|
