Java sisterhood

It is amazing the connections we have with a food or a drink.  My grandmother, an advid coffee aficionado, shared her love with me through a liquid!  Java sisterhood has been created!  We would sit out on the back patio, down in Beaumont Texas and have our morning coffee and fruit (cantaloupe an all time fav).  We would talk about the days events, which always included an outing.  Some of the best childhood memories, I have with my Nana. 

For as long as I can remember, coffee has been and always will be a comfort drink for me.  Whether stressed, happy, lonely, sad, tired, no matter what the emotion, coffee soothes me like nothing else.  My Nana gave me that.  Something that  no one can take from me!

Seven and half years ago, my Nana had a heart attack at my sister's wedding reception.  Six months later, I made a trip from Monroe LA to Tinsman AR. My Nana and I sat with a cup of coffee, and while tears flowed, I looked at my Nana and said,  "I want to know are you really ok? Are you ready? Are you scared to die?"  Strange as it may sound, I found comfort in her comfort should she pass on.

• You see, she was scheduled for open heart surgery a week later.  There was a high risk and there was awareness that she might not make it. 

Nana comforted me and I comforted her as we spent the entire day together alone, just us.  That was the last  time I saw my Nana alive. A week later, I was called around 3am to go to Little Rock, AR  from Monroe, LA.  Nana wasn't going to make it. I drove like I had never driven before....crying, and saying over and over "Nana please, please hold on, please". 

• When she had open heart surgery they discovered she had pulmonary hypertension, complications from surgery resulted in a massive heart attack. 

Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time, and Nana had been placed on life support.  I was there holding her hand when the machine was turned off.  She left this world not alone, but surrounded by those who loved her. 

Today, seven years ago we buried a very unique woman who had a major influence in my life growing up.  She was my teacher of the lady like ways, the art of shopping, the love of chinese food, and the hope of something better.  Every family has ups and downs. Some relatives are quirkier than others.  Oddities, quirks, obsessions they just don't matter.  What matters are the memories shared with the relative, imprinted in our brains and our hearts. She had confidence in me when I had none. I was an only grandchild for 10 years! So we had special moments that were just us.She loved being a grandmother to her first born granddaughter and even more so to her first born great grand son!

So I stand, raise my coffee mug, and say,

To the woman who was wise and loving  in her own way.  Whose hand was in the shaping of my "mold". For without her, ear piercing, driving lessons, hair cuttings, swimming lesson, Hostess Fruit pies, fried egg with cheese, road trips, the value of a great pair of shoes in 4 different colors, and yes, coffee, would have been just another ordinary memory.  Here, Here to a  Grandmother every granddaughter should have! Heres to my Nana and the Java Sisterhood!