The Birthday of a Strong Woman

"I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

Today I finally felt like blogging.  I thought what better to blog about but my Grandma Davis, it is of course her birthday today.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!  I don't know my Grandmas life in direct order...just the little pieces. Just the little things that stick out in my mind here and there. I am sure I will say some untrue things or be sketchy on the details but its how it is in my head.

Growing up my Grandma Davis lived far away in Louisiana.  We would make trips to visit during the summers or on the occasional Christmas. I ALWAYS loved visiting that old house on Choctaw road. Always greeted by Holly the collie, always the same furniture taken care of so well thru the years, the cuckoo clock that hung on the wall with its chains adorned with pine cones. Grandmas house was a special place. It held all the secrets of my mothers childhood...it held that hint of affirmation that a happy, fun, normal (on the occasion) family had grown there. While at my Grandmas I would get to sleep in my mothers old bed but every night before bedtime Grandma would let us have ice cream! Not only did she let us have some we got to pick out what flavor!  It was always such a hard choice because she had a well stocked freezer full of different sherbets and ice creams. That was always the best.

My Grandma is a lady that has blazed her own trail.  She is one tough broad. She is a shining example of perseverance, strength, humor, knowledge, and kindness.  A lady that many can look up to and aspire to. Grandma lost her husband, my Grandpa Davis, when I was just a baby.  I know through the stories told that he was a great man and that they had that old time love...the kind that is endless. The kind that is never absolutely perfect but is always present.  She faced that loss and picked up the pieces. She went back to school, earned a degree in psychology. Never stopped learning or trying to better herself.  Sometime later my Grandma opted to move to the beach. Oh goodness I remember this red hot Grandma....in her tube tops and shorts, loving life. We LOVED to go visit her in Crystal Beach. The visits had a placate feeling about them.  I thought I would be disappointed because it wouldn't be the same as the house on Choctaw but it was.  Same smell, same furniture, same Grandma. 

My mother went to live at Crystal Beach a couple of years ago to be closer to Grandma. I am so thankful that they both got that chance.  That chance to rekindle and bond again. Mother nature (which is such a bitch at times) decided to rain on their parade and flex her strength. Hurricane Ike came through and washed away my Grandmas world....but not her spirit.  That tenacious lady picked herself up again and started out fresh once more.  Bless her.

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So Barbara Davis...
The woman who never seems to forget a birthday
The woman who loves to read and expand her mind
The woman who raised some awesome kids
The woman who has looked at the wall standing in her way and laughed
The woman who loves all of us so much

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!