Mommin

This is Mommin. Her name is actually a portmanteau between "Momma" and her actual name "Minnie". I figured you should get to know her. She’s my maternal grandmother. This amazing lady went to be with Jesus on the 10^th day of August 2001. I was only 13. Her life, which I have learned so much more about since her passing, and her death have been one of the biggest impacts in my life. I’ve debated how I’ve wanted to present her to you. Biography? Her personality? What she means to me? All would fill up pages and pages, so I’m deciding to share some of my memories with you. Hopefully, you’ll see how wonderful of a lady she was just through these few stories.

Where’s the LAST place you want to be when you’re in 3^rd grade? That’s right. School. School blows. I know you it. You know it. Mommin knew it. So what’d she do? She surprised me one day coming to school and checking me out of class. Her explanation? “I wanted to have some fun with you.” Umm… yes, please! I’m pretty sure Mommin never saw Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but our day together without my parents knowing was a lot like that. Except we went through the car wash (!!!), to Piggly Wiggly, smuggled Cokes into her refrigerator on her side of the house, and watched Driving Miss Daisy. That is, to this day, one of the best days of my life. She went to the grave with our Day of Debauchery. My parents didn’t find out until a few years ago.

One summer I spent two weeks with her out in The Country. Now The Country AKA Clear Creek AKA Opossum Corner is where Mommin was born and raised. On that property she spent her formative years and returned throughout her life. She eventually retired and moved back to the old homestead. Back there in The Country, it’s almost a commune of family. There were 4 other of my grandmother’s dozen siblings that lived out there. And about 7 of my mother’s first cousins lived in houses back there. For the record, my mother has 40+ first cousins on Mommin’s side alone. I don’t exactly remember the year, but I remember those two weeks amazingly well. We’d pick blackberries, tend to Uncle Elvis’ (yes, Elvis) cows. And Uncle AW and Aunt Lillie had an open door policy at their house for me. I spent a lot of time over there too just talking to Mommin’s younger brother and his wife who was never really liked by anyone in the family except Mommin. Mommin had a huge front porch and huge ceiling fans on the porch. So what does any little guy do with that kind of room? Play LEGOs outside, of course! She would watch. Sip her sweet tea. And we would talk. Heaven knows what we ever talked about, but I just remember endless conversations with Mommin. Whatever did we talk about? I made her laugh a lot. I remember that. Her laugh is something I miss. So is The Country.

Lastly, I’ll tell you my favorite memory about Mommin that I didn’t “get” until recently. When I was about 9 or 10 her eldest brother, Uncle Bud, fell ill. His first wife had died years ago of breast cancer and his second wife was in “the home.” So Mommin stopped everything she was doing in her life and went to be with him. Now from what I hear, Aunt Louise (Uncle Bud’s first wife) and Mommin were like sisters. And Uncle Bud was Mommin’s biggest fan throughout her life. I’m sure with him being her eldest brother, she held him in equally high esteem. They were close. And I did not see her frequently for months because she was with Uncle Bud. I remember having to go to Uncle Bud’s if we wanted to see her. She was being a great nurse. He eventually died some months after this, but she never left his side. She loved him and she loved caring for him.

Another instance of this happening was when her best friend for over 50years fell ill. Mrs Flo and Mommin met at LSU before the War. In fact, I think it was Mr. Whitney, Mrs Flo’s husband, introduced my grandparents to each other. Anyway, she fell ill. She had 4 girls, just like Mommin, but no one could really look after Mrs Flo during the week, so Mommin volunteered her services. She went and practically lived with Mrs Flo. Nursing someone she loved yet again. Always willing to help. She stayed with Mrs Flo for a while, but began to have knee problems.

By the Spring of 01, she was using a cane. I saw her that Mother’s Day and was horrified by the cane. Mommin took care of everyone else! That was her calling! She didn’t need anyone to take care of her! She’s immortal! I can’t say I said any of this verbally, but I can almost guarantee she saw the look on my face. It was a pretty cane. Mommin was a classy lady. But still… to this day I don’t like looking at that cane. She went in to get her knee fixed on her 82^nd birthday August 8^th, 2001. She told us this was the best birthday present she could ever get. Well, she made it through surgery fine, but the nurses took horrible records and gave her too much morphine which killed her breathing. On August 9^th, my family rushed to Baton Rouge. And in the ICU waiting room who was there, but Mrs. Flo’s oldest daughter. Mrs Flo had been admitted into the hospital and was in ICU. In fact, they were across the hall from each other. We kept Mommin on life support until my aunt who was in Vermont at the time could get back. I never went in her room because I didn’t want those memories of tubes and cords. I wanted Piggly Wiggly, and blackberries, and Uncle Bud again, not death. But she was right. Seeing Jesus is just about the best birthday gift anyone can get. You see, she cared about people and loved them dearly it. It was something that was omnipresent in my life, but not something I realized while she was with me. I hope to someday have the amount of love in my heart that Mommin had in hers. I told you she was amazing.