Last week, my mother’s sister Gaylia and her husband Al came to Seattle for a visit. It’s been a while since we all saw each other. The wine and conversation flowed. And my Aunt Gay brought me an unexpected present that surprised me so much, and touched me so deeply, that I began to cry at the restaurant table. Drip drip drip into my salmon…
Gaylia brought me a locket that belonged to my great-grandmother Margie, our Nana.
Nana was an amazing woman. Amazing. A little woman with small bones and a high, light voice like a bird. A fierce and questing soul. Guts by the barrelful. When Nana was 15, she walked from her home in the Midwest (Oklahoma?) all the way to New Orleans to avoid an arranged marriage to a much older man. When she was forced to marry him anyway, she made the best life for him and his kids that she could, and she held him in her arms when he died. And then she lived alone for the rest of her life. She painted small oil and watercolor pictures on scraps of paper and the backs of greeting cards, and gave them away. She loved cats, and her garden, and her independence, and she loved my mother and Gaylia and me. She knew a lot about pain and a lot about joy. I hope there’s a lot of her in me.
So this was Nana’s locket. I would treasure it for that alone, but then Gaylia opened it and showed me what was inside.
On the bottom (left, below) is my mother Sharon at about 17-18. On the top (right, below) is Gaylia, about 13-14. These were taken at the beach somewhere in Southern California.
Aren’t they beautiful?
Here’s the thing: I know they were both having hard lives at that point, for a variety of reasons. But here they are, on a summer’s day, together, smiling… well, I admire them both extremely, and I am struck again (and again, and again!) by the power of the human spirit to find joy wherever it can, no matter what.
Albert Camus said, In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer. My Nana was invincible. Sharon and Gaylia are too. And me, well, I’m trying.
Enjoy your day. Go invince.
So beautiful, Kelley. How wonderful that you have these women as part of your lineage and your story.
What an amazing family : )
What an utterly beautiful story, and an important reminder to us all. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Yes, they are beautiful indeed… ; ) Wiping tears before I go off to work. Thanks for the moment Kelley.
Thank you for sharing this, Kelley. They are lovely women, as are you.
Kelley, I was so surprised to open my e-mail and see the stunning picture of our beloved Nana. I tried to read it aloud to Art and ended up choked by tears. If Nana had seen this, she would have cried too. And held you so tight! That’s what I’ll do the next time I see you. Mom
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, Kelley. Thank you very much for sharing this jewel. You are the best.
Out of the fragments of family, out of what we choose to save and pass on, come all our many strengths and weaknesses. Your great grandmother is beautiful.
How beautiful. And now here we are all dripping on our desks… I never met your Nana, but I have no doubt there is a lot of her in your mother and in you as well. All beautiful, all invincible.
You are not trying. You are doing. A brightly shining, living example for us all. Thank you for sharing this reminder of the beauty and power of the human spirit.
That is just SO cool.
Thank you so much for sharing something so personal and precious with the world. It’s really inspiring, and I think you’re willingness to be so open about it is a demonstration of your strength and invincibility.