MaMa's Pearls…and "Raunchy" Handbags

Day #7

My grandmother, MaMa, who passed away in May, LOVED an event.

My mom, MaMa, and me.

She planned, orchestrated, decorated and cooked for many, many events.

I have her to thank for many of the details of my wedding.

She was a great person to brainstorm with on favors, centerpieces or even just accessories for an outfit to an event.

I miss so much about her including that deep well of creativity and experience.

MaMa was also a proper Christian lady.

Always appropriate in dress and disposition.

Which takes me to my daughter's language arts assignment.

McDaniel is taking a freshman language arts class that requires a lot of writing--which she likes.

Her latest writing assignment required 

using a fair amount of descriptors.

McDaniel decided to write about the boxes that we each received after MaMa's death.

The ones that MaMa herself thought about and set aside for each of us.

McDaniel got my grandfather's dog tag from the army.

Her namesake.

She wears it everyday.

She also wrote about all my grandmother's "raunchy" handbags that were included in one of the boxes.

[Long. Pause.]

I asked McDaniel if she knew what "raunchy" meant.

She responded,

"Yes. Fancy."

I explained the error in her thinking.

Then we had a good long laugh because MaMa was far from raunchy.

Far, far, FAR from it. 

The opposite of it.

But MaMa would've delighted in the retelling of this story,

(saying the word "raunchy" in a whisper of course).

I've thought of her a lot the last few days as we prepared McDaniel's outfit for the Homecoming dance.

This was McDaniel's first school dance.

She went with a big group of girls. 

So all the dads were happy.

I have also thought of MaMa as I prepared the backyard for hosting all the girls in her friend group and their parents for pictures before the dance.

MaMa would've loved that I brought a little bit of the farm to our suburb using corn stalks from here in Ohio and hay bales from Indiana that Mom and Dad brought over last weekend.

Yesterday morning as we dug through one of the boxes from MaMa,

we came across the perfect accessories for McDaniel's dress for Homecoming.

MaMa's pearl necklace and "raunchy" handbag.

Isn't it lovely?

It weighs a ton and tucked inside were two bracelets and a cross necklace.

I wore the cross necklace all day as I cleaned and prepared food.

I kept humming an old hymn that I couldn't quite place.

After some research, I found that it is this song, "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross".

Jesus, keep me near the cross; 
 there a precious fountain, 
 free to all, a healing stream, 
 flows from Calvary's mountain. 
Refrain:
 In the cross, in the cross, 
 be my glory ever, 
 till my raptured soul shall find 
 rest beyond the river.

2. Near the cross, a trembling soul, 
 love and mercy found me; 
 there the bright and morning star 
 sheds its beams around me. 
 (Refrain) 

3. Near the cross! O Lamb of God, 
 bring its scenes before me; 
 help me walk from day to day 
 with its shadow o'er me. 
 (Refrain) 

4. Near the cross I'll watch and wait, 
 hoping, trusting ever, 
 till I reach the golden strand 
 just beyond the river. 
 (Refrain) 

Just like the song I started to hum after my Uncle Barney passed away while I was on vacation,

I truly believe God comforted my grieving heart with this 

hymn that I haven't heard or sung in years.

While we were digging in the box for a handbag, we also found an apron that could work for Ellie's costume as an orphan in the middle school's production of Annie.

MaMa is STILL helping me,

inspiring me, 

for all the events of our lives.

Our dear senior neighbor who walked
across the street in those super high
heels just to see McDaniel dressed
 (in MaMa's pearls) for her first high
school dance.

Ellie and McDaniel posing in the dead
patch of grass where the trampoline
used to sit.