January 7, 1914

Ninety five years ago today my grandmother, Dorothy was born. She was known to her friends as Dot. I called her Nana. Since I also called my great grandmother Nana, when differentiating between the two we called her Nana Small (her last name). I remember when Brittainy was young she asked me if Nana Small's last name was Small because she was so short. My grandmother was 4'10". Though she was small in stature she was a feisty woman and I loved her to pieces!!!!!

My grandmother could do every thing. She was a wonderful cook, a great seamstress and she knit and crocheted many things! I have some of her afghans still. :)

This is one of my favorite pictures of myself and my grandmother. Yes, it was back in the day when film was black and white. I have that afghan behind the two of us still. What I love about this picture is if you look at the bottom you can see her hand with her rings on it. She gave me her diamond ring a couple of years before Rich and I were engaged and I asked him not to buy me one. I wanted to use Nana's. I see that picture of her wearing the ring, and look down at my hand now and know that was a part of her.
My grandmother was also a wonderful gardener. I made this scrapbook page years ago and it simply says, "a grandmother's love blooms in your heart".

My father died while my grandmother was still alive. He was her only child and it was so hard having to go to the nursing home she was living in to tell her. My sister Sam came with me so we could let her know. I get all teary eyed remembering how hurt she was to hear that!!

I went every week to visit my grandmother in the nursing home. I even moved her to one closer to me so I could get to her easier. I missed only a few weeks in the two or so years that she was there.

I remember one time I went to visit her and she told me all about going to visit friends to play bridge. She hadn't. She just thought she did. One visit she told me that she hoped her grandmother wasn't worried about her because she didn't come home. I reminded her that she was in her 80's and her grandmother was gone. She started crying. It broke my heart. After that whenever she mentioned having to let her grandmother know she wouldn't be there I offered to stop on my way home to tell her. My grandmother was raised by her grandmother since her mother died when she was two.

My son Tim was born in September of 1998 and I brought him to visit with her a couple of times. I have a picture of them together and my grandmother looks very old compared to my memories of her. In November of that year she died. I miss her every day. Today I want all of my friends to know what a wonderful lady she was and how blessed I have been to have known and loved her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

take care,
Dawn