I went to a Mother-Daughter banquet the other day with my Mother-in-Law--fondly known as Nana. As part of the ceremony, one deserving woman is crowned Queen for the Day. The catch--you have to be nominated for the honor in the form of an essay. This year, I decided I would finally submit one on Nana's behalf.
Queen for a Day
Nana is a special lady. She has a sharp wit and a gentle tongue. She has any number of unique talents. She made our wedding cake—a gorgeous affair of layers and hearts decked out in white frosting. She wraps Christmas packages better than anybody, complete with fabric ribbons and adorned with birds, bangles, or bells according to her mood.
She is a woman of character. I knew her before she become “Mom” through a ladies Bible study. Her faith extends to the simple things in life—a timely green light, a close parking space. Her sense of humor is sparked by a playful side that is downright hilarious—she once organized a moving scavenger hunt for a long car ride using signs, one of which read “We are doing a Scavenger Hunt. Show Us Your Dentures!” (Even more unbelievably, other drivers actually took out their teeth for us!)
Nana is home of the hot cup of tea, the M&M dispenser, and an elegant ambiance which has been concocted from her years of garage sale-ing. Every summer, we scour the yard sales and find a little treasure to come home with. We’ve even found a few not-so-little things, too, like the toddler bed she helped me load up in her van. She is the best at bargaining the price down—she even got the lady with the bed to throw in the spare silverware organizer for a dishwasher for free. She uses what she saves to treat us to lunch.
She is a woman who loves her family. She spoils us all at Christmas. She taught her granddaughter to play piano. She and I carpool together once a week, and she has never once asked for gas money. Along with the free ride, she gives me the update on Grandma’s adventures with the Red Hats and a nephew’s new job. She laments about how she stayed up too late watching the Tiger’s game, and still dreams of the grandkids getting her season tickets.
Nana is wise. I will always remember my mother-in-law best for her very special view of dirty socks. The socks themselves, mind you, are not hers. The particular ones I’m concerned with happen to belong to my husband. Her son somehow escaped her attempts to instill general housekeeping courtesies such as might be learned in Laundry 101 or Hitting the Hamper for Beginners, and is now a full-grown man whose socks lie wadded up wherever he happens to take them off at. When I complained once about having to constantly pick them up, she simply mentioned that his father had done the same thing. Then she quietly reflected that she would give anything to be able to pick up his dirty socks again.
She is unQuestionably the most Unique, Entertaining, Endearing, Nana at the conference today. She’s already a queen…now I nominate her to wear today’s crown.
She is a woman of character. I knew her before she become “Mom” through a ladies Bible study. Her faith extends to the simple things in life—a timely green light, a close parking space. Her sense of humor is sparked by a playful side that is downright hilarious—she once organized a moving scavenger hunt for a long car ride using signs, one of which read “We are doing a Scavenger Hunt. Show Us Your Dentures!” (Even more unbelievably, other drivers actually took out their teeth for us!)
Nana is home of the hot cup of tea, the M&M dispenser, and an elegant ambiance which has been concocted from her years of garage sale-ing. Every summer, we scour the yard sales and find a little treasure to come home with. We’ve even found a few not-so-little things, too, like the toddler bed she helped me load up in her van. She is the best at bargaining the price down—she even got the lady with the bed to throw in the spare silverware organizer for a dishwasher for free. She uses what she saves to treat us to lunch.
She is a woman who loves her family. She spoils us all at Christmas. She taught her granddaughter to play piano. She and I carpool together once a week, and she has never once asked for gas money. Along with the free ride, she gives me the update on Grandma’s adventures with the Red Hats and a nephew’s new job. She laments about how she stayed up too late watching the Tiger’s game, and still dreams of the grandkids getting her season tickets.
Nana is wise. I will always remember my mother-in-law best for her very special view of dirty socks. The socks themselves, mind you, are not hers. The particular ones I’m concerned with happen to belong to my husband. Her son somehow escaped her attempts to instill general housekeeping courtesies such as might be learned in Laundry 101 or Hitting the Hamper for Beginners, and is now a full-grown man whose socks lie wadded up wherever he happens to take them off at. When I complained once about having to constantly pick them up, she simply mentioned that his father had done the same thing. Then she quietly reflected that she would give anything to be able to pick up his dirty socks again.
She is unQuestionably the most Unique, Entertaining, Endearing, Nana at the conference today. She’s already a queen…now I nominate her to wear today’s crown.
1 comment:
I have tears in my eyes, that was so sweet and so eloquently written (as always). So did she get to wear the crown?
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