Thelma Francis Whitworth b. December 22, 1920 d. July 23, 2002
9 years ago tomorrow, my wonderful Nana passed away. It was a very hard loss for my family as we all loved her so much - and she loved us all immensely. She passed away 53 days before my wedding...I was devastated. She was looking forward to all the celebrations - she loved Tim and was so happy that we were getting married. We lit a candle at our wedding to remember our grandparents who had left us (DH lost his paternal grandmother 9 days before our wedding, another sad loss so close to our wedding).
My Nana was wonderful. I loved being with her. Sleepovers at her apartment, making air popped popcorn and sitting on her balcony chatting away. She loved baseball, specifically the Blue Jays and any sports any of her grandchildren played. She was our biggest fan. She came with us a few years to our cottage - I remember so many fun outings - Funny Farm, Magnetawan, Lake Nippising and the Dionne Quints museum. Any time spent with her was special!In 2008, on her birthday, two very scary things happened to our family. Around 530pm, I was at the door with one my daycare parents, when we heard a loud bang...Buddaroo had wriggled past our makeshift gate and rolled right down the stairs. He was 9.5 months old. He was fine, but I wasn't...I couldn't believe I had let that happen.
Later that night, we headed to our Monday night bowling league. DH had had a couple beers so I drove home...As I was approaching a red light, I slid through the intersection after hitting a patch of ice. There was a ton of oncoming traffic...THANKFULLY, the lady approaching swerved ended up missing us. I was so upset. I cried for hours once we were home. I could've killed our family...and Buddaroo could've been badly hurt or worse by falling down the stairs...and then it hit me...It was Nana's birthday. She was our Guardian Angel! She saved Buddaroo and saved us all that night. People may think I'm silly for believing that...but...I don't care....
My Nana always used to pick up pennies she found on the street/sidewalks...my Mom now picks them up and believes that she is leaving them for her, to let her know she is still with her.Last Saturday, my Mom's birthday, I went with my parents and sister to a show at the Casino in Niagara Falls. A great time until we almost got into a massive accident. A guy 2 cars ahead of us, slammed on his brakes to look at something - the guy ahead of us swerved to the right and we swerved to the left - thankfully there was enough shoulder for us to get over. We were all pretty shaken up - I said that my Dad has reflexes like a cheetah! Well...the next morning...what does my Dad find at the bottom of the car by the pedals...2 PENNIES! He swears that they were not there the day before...They recently got a new vehicle and it is still pretty tidy...so I think he would've noticed if there were pennies down there. My mom is convinced that she saved us all that night...and to be honest, I do, too. It's all just a bit too much not to believe it, don't you think? She is our Guardian Angel!
I think of her so often but tomorrow I will remember all the wonderful times we had together and thank her for being such an amazing Nana...for making my Mom the person that she is, I am so lucky to have her. And I am so lucky to have had 23 years with the most wonderful grandmother I could've ever asked for. I loved her with all of my heart...and even though the pain of her absence has gotten easier over the years...I still miss her immensely!
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