This was a tricky entry to write. Maybe it was because I have so much to say, so many things left unsaid, so many wonderful memories and so many "I wish I could have known them better"s. My mom's parents have both passed away. Poppy passed when I was in elementary school and since we had lived in Nova Scotia a few years prior to his passing I only had the opportunity to see him for a week or two in the summer.
From what I hear I had a very similar life as he did. He was a teacher in rural Newfoundland when he was younger. He wrote a journal, which I have read bits and pieces of based on his first year in the isolation of the outport he was teaching in. It was uncanny how much it sounded like my experience teaching up north. He believed deeply in treating people fairly and giving them a chance to prove themselves. He worked for many years in Labrador as a magistrate in the courts. He had an extensive library, had a sense of adventure, loved to travel and held his cards close to his chest. He was always one to stand up and fight for the underdog, which probably led to my existence as he reached out to my father when dad was living in 'not so great' conditions after losing his parents in a car accident.
Nanny was around until just a couple years ago. She was a strong lady much like her mother, but she loved me unconditionally. I spent a lot of time in my first few years in Bay Roberts with her and Poppy. I loved eating toast with marmalade and melted butter on bread baking day, watching Price is Right on the floor model television in her old home on Cable Avenue or sitting out under the canopy of old growth trees that sheltered us on sunny days, listening to the sea breezes rustle through the leaves. I spent one Easter holiday with her in St. John's before she passed. Mom and I flew in from Halifax barely landing in the thick fog. We spent most of our week listening to stories and laughing. She liked to tickle me and gave the best hugs till the day she passed.
I miss them dearly but am thankful knowing I am the person I am today partly because of the time I spent with them.
Theme song for today: Grace by Saving Jane
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