Ann the Great

On October 14th, my Grandmother turned 90. Despite being a huge event, it was almost impossible for us to agree on what to get/do for her to celebrate. See, at 90, my grandmother has pretty much done, seen, experienced or heard enough to hate any and everything you could think of as a gift. The only thing she loves is fish sandwiches from Libby Hill and her great-grandbabies. So for her 90th, the kids, grandkids and great-grands and headed to Greensboro to celebrate HER way.

Our idea was to take a family picture so that she would have formal pictures of herself and the kids to display in her house. Every since Roman was born, I’ve been sending both she and my other grandmother pictures every few weeks since both of them live outside of Georgia. Ann the Great (my mother’s mother, whose new nickname comes from Bill Cosby’s show) has forgotten her great grandchildren’s names too often, so her solution is to call them all “buster”. That’s a step up from calling them “buddy”, which is what she calls her grandkids when she can’t remember.

Driving to Greensboro, I recalled the days after Roman was born and my grandmother’s excitement. She, like most of the folks in the family, had wanted a baby girl since we have only boys in this generation. But one look at Roman and she was hooked. The entire time we visited, she kept my 6-week old son nestled in the crook of her arm while they rested together on the couch. It brought tears to my eyes to see her so excited and to know that two people almost a century apart even had the chance to see one another.

The photo shoot ended up being the best idea we could have ever done. The kids had a blast and my grandmother enjoyed getting “gussied up” as she put it and taking pictures. Of course, trying to keep 3 boys under 7 in line while you photograph them and 7 adults who all think they know how to plan a photo op is a little like squeezing sand. But in the end, the shots turned out great and everyone had a good time.

There was a moment in the shoot where the kids were running around and my parents were trying to get Roman to smile and I turned to catch my grandmother’s gaze. She looked like a woman proud to be viewing the generations she birthed dance around her in all their glory. She looked grand, peaceful and aware of what she was blessed to have in her life and to be able to enjoy. It was a look I pray to be able to have on my own face one day.