For My Favorite Octogenarian: "GMBB w/o" Oct 21 '02    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line To all of the world you might be just somebody, but to somebody you just might be the world! This piece is to help wish Granniemose a wonderful 80th birthday! There are many wonderful people in this world. Women and men who do great things for this planet and are remembered as pioneers, heroes and legends. No doubt, their contributions have made this world a better place to be. But what about the average people in the world? People whose deeds are no less great, just not recognized? I have a quote on my profile page that says "If, while you are a child, just one someone loves you unconditionally, then you will have love to give for the rest of your life." How wonderful to be that someone! My great-grandmother was that special person to me. Don't get me wrong, my parents loved me, and so did all the rest of the extended family, but this lady (we called her Tucky) would drop what she was doing when you arrived at her door, and devote herself to your happiness until you had to leave. It goes back further than me. My mother had a rough relationship with her parents on good days. When she became pregnant with me at 18, life in their house became unbearable. She was able to go to her grandparents house to be safe. When I was born, Tucky kept me for my mom to work. In college, I was finally an hour's drive from Tucky and Big Daddy's front door. As a child, I just loved them so innocently, but as a young adult I began to respect them as well. My boyfriend (who is my husband now), would accompany me on my bimonthly trips to stay with them and we never felt more relaxed or accepted anywhere else. In college I thought I knew everything. I think it is probably a malady that most sophomores experience, but it is no less embarrassing to admit now. Slowly, over the course of my 6 year tenure at the University of Alabama, I realized there was a lot more I had to learn about life than Micro Economics. My great-grandmother taught me the value of hospitality. Big Daddy is a preacher, a genuine Primitive Baptist who brings home people from church unexpectedly for lunch without ever asking Tucky if it was fine. I can remember helping Tucky scramble to put together a nice meal for our impromptu guests, and Tucky never blinking an eye. She seemed genuinely thrilled to have company, even if it meant extra work for her. My great-grandmother taught me the power of faith. Being a preacher's wife, I suppose that was to be expected, but believe it or not, she never once preached to me. We said simple prayers before bed and simple blessings before eating, and somehow it was just implied that their was something greater than us up there. She helped open my eyes to the miracle of a dew drop on her beloved flowers and the laugh of a child. My great-grandmother helped me to realize the gift of unconditional love. Had I never known her, perhaps I wouldn't understand the wonder of a grandparent/grandchild relationship. My son, Ty, goes to his grandmother's house and rules the roost. It drives my husband crazy for him to spend the night there and come home acting like a maniac! But I know just how wonderful it feels to think, for just that small space of time, that the world truly does revolve around you. My great-grandmother taught me the importance of saying good-bye. When the end came for her, we gathered around her hospital bed until she stopped breathing. The only good thing about cancer is that you know the end is coming, so you have time to say things a sudden death doesn't allow. I made my peace with Tucky, and I think she died knowing how vitally important her life was to me. She is my hero, my guiding light, and maybe even my guardian angel. And for all of these reasons, I'm hoping this baby will be a girl, so she can carry the name of a most precious woman who has been absent from my life for 10 years.

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