Today is a little bit of a sentimental post. Today would
have been my grandmother’s birthday. She was such an influential person in my
life that I would love to spend today telling you about her. This picture was
at my high school graduation, seven months before she passed away.
Robbie Hancock, or as I called
her – Bird. She was more than a grandmother, she was a woman who persevered
through many things. She lost both a father and a husband to cancer. She was a
World War 2 baby.
She was a good friend and quite
the prankster. From sneaking into friend’s hotel rooms to wrap saran wrap in
between the toilet and the seat to sewing the leg holes of underwear shut
instead of the costumes like everyone thought! She taught us that sometimes you
had to be the butt of a good joke and all is fair in the name of a good laugh.
One of our favorite games at the dinner table was GUESS WHO I AM. We
would go around the table picking one family member to basically make fun of. Everyone
would laugh, even the person we were making fun of. She taught us it is
okay to laugh at yourself - we all do funny things.
If you asked
her children what kind of mother she was, the first word that came to mind was
tough. She would stop by the movie theater and ask you if you needed money.
Sounds sweet, but not really. She had already asked you where you were
going, what you were doing, what time you would be home, and who you would be
with. The stopping at the movie theater wasn’t to see if you need money,
it was just to make sure you were where you said you were. Now, that was for
her children, me on the other hand as a grandchild tough isn’t the word I would
give. If I got in trouble at her house I was punished by being sent to her room
to watch TV with a handful of candy. If I needed a navy skirt for something
well the skirt wasn’t enough, she also decided I needed a couple tops to go
with it and maybe the navy pants too. She had an “I can’t take the money with
me” theory so we were spoiled, but,
she taught us to be thankful for it all. If you didn’t say thank you she would
take it back. She taught us to be fair, if one of us got something we all got
something. She taught us that bad things happen. That’s life. You
will be sad. Sometimes you will lose. We can’t all win all the time.
You will get your feelings hurt. But, as soon as you hear the first door
slam---MOVE ON. She absolutely loved life and made sure she squeezed every drop
out of every day.
She deserves to have so much more said about her but I have
to stop somewhere. Robbie Hancock was a wonderful lady and is missed by many. Happy
birthday, Bird!
Post a Comment