Nana

Having Mac has really made Wade and me miss his mom, Mac’s Nana. She loved kids and was so wonderful with them. She also had a lot of advice for us while we were dating and married, and I know she would have known what to do in those times where I just have to say “I’ll google it” From “how to thaw chicken properly” to “Wade has been sick for 5 days, what should we do” she knew it all, or if she didn’t, she didn’t let on.

Since she passed away in June of 2009, there have been a lot of changes going on. I could write a novel on this past year. (I have also discovered that I should have pursued my passion to be a private eye…that’s for another post) It is scary how you think you know someone(s) and they turn out to be completely different. I’ll just say that the family dynamic has changed greatly. She was the glue that held the McClendon’s together. Through Mrs. Rita, you could see Christ. She was such a strong believer. I get upset knowing she is able to see things unfold.

Moving on, this is a neat story. When I was working on Mac’s nursery I decided I wanted to frame black and white pictures of his parents, grandparents and great grandparents. I knew I wanted the pictures of us when we were young. One day, after Mrs. Rita had died, Wade went over to his moms house to pick up some clothes she had told us she had purchased for her future grandchildren (of course they were all from Parisian practically, and were boxed and labeled perfectly) I told him that while he was there to look through some pictures to see if he could find any of her when she was growing up and preferably one of her “playing” for the nursery. He came home with a picture in a plastic bag of his mom holding a doll while sitting on a rocking horse. I praised him for finding one so perfect and how he picked a great one and even put it in a baggie so it wouldn’t ruin. Well, Wade looked at me and said “this single picture was in this baggie on a shelf in her closet” I have NO idea why it was there, or who put it there, but we just believe that Nana put it there for us. It was the perfect picture and it was just there…for us! Needless to say we blew the picture up and it is hanging in his nursery!

Here is a picture of all the pictures. You can see his moms on the 2nd row far left. I don’t have one of just the picture. FYI from top to bottom left to right is Me, Mamu (dad’s mom), Big Gigi (mom’s dad), Nana (Wades mom), Papa D (my dad), Wade, Mama D (my mom) and Me again (we needed an even number so I will take one of mine down) We are still waiting on My dad’s dad, Wades grandfather (Gampop), and my grandmother (Gigi) to get us pictures. Wades grandmothers, and Mrs. Rita’s dads we have, but haven been framed yet.

Here is a picture of the ones we have framed, hanging.