MY GREATEST BLESSINGS CALL ME NANA

Time Passes Quickly

Several years had gone by with no word from Janice.  Birthdays, Holidays, and special events missed.  Emma and Jacob had quit asking about her.  Today, Crystal sat looking at Jacob and his friends on his thirteenth birthday reflecting on the last six years he had lived with her.  She loved him and would do anything for him.  They had managed to make it.  All the worries seemed behind them.  She could not imagine her world without them.

Emma walked by with her little girl friends.  She was becoming a young lady in what seemed like overnight.  In no time she would be wearing makeup, she already asked daily for permission.  Lip Gloss was all she was allowed until she turned thirteen. Then there would be the boyfriends.  Crystal closed her eyes and said a quick prayer that they would take their time growing up.  She wanted them to stay her little babies forever.

She was tired with age, but they gave her the energy to keep going.  She heard them calling for Nana.  She opened her eyes to see that they were ready to cut the cake.  She started singing happy birthday and cut the cake for them.  She tried not to smother them and let them enjoy their time in the pool with their friends.

She watched them run around and wondered about Janice.  She remembered watching her grow up and playing with her friends.  She remembered birthdays and holidays shared with her.  Now she did not even know where she was.  She assumed someone would call if something bad had happened to her. She could not imagine what would make a mother leave such beautiful children.  Jacob was his sister’s protector.  He was a sweet big brother.  They did fight but they were protective of each other.  Truth be told Emma was the tougher of the two.  She had no problems fighting someone.  Crystal giggled at the thought of her little red headed spit fire protecting her big brother.  Crystal did not condone fighting, but she did encourage them to always be there for each other.

She could see Janice in each of them.  They were slim like her and they both had her smile. Emma had her personality.  She was a carefree and happy little girl whereas Jacob was the one that had to be in control.  He was desperate to be liked by people.  Crystal felt that he had taken his mother leaving the hardest.  He remembered more than Emma.

She had trouble with Jacob lashing out and being angry for the first few years.  Crystal could still see his heart break reflected in his personality, but he seemed to be doing better now.  Emma may have appeared to adjust better, but she too had problems.  She would not sleep by herself for years.  Even though Crystal had made them start sleeping in their own beds, every night when she got up to check on them Emma would be in bed with Jacob.  She always moved her back to her own bed but had decided if that was what comforted her, and Jacob did not mind she would not say anything.

That evening when the kids went to bed, she sat there relaxing thinking about the future.  She had allowed the kids to share a room but now she needed to get them into their own rooms.  She would begin unloading the guest room and get it set up for Emma.  She went to bed.  She felt like she had barely got her eyes closed before the alarm was going off.

The next day she told the kids they needed to go get some bins to pack up the guest room. Emma was excited to be getting her own room.  It had not sunk in that she would not be in the same room as Jacob anymore.  Jacob looked sad.  What is wrong Jacob?  Nana, Emma gets a new room and I do not.  We will fix your room up next, just for you.  You need to be thinking about how you want your room to look.  Jacob perked up then.  It took three days to completely empty the guest room.

Crystal washed the walls down, cleaned the windows and carpets.  Now for the paint.  She took Emma and Jacob to the paint store to pick out paint.  Emma wanted purple. That was not a surprise.  They picked out a nice lavender for the walls and white for her trim and doors.  Jacob wanted red.  Red was his favorite color but Crystal thought that would be too in your face.  She asked Jack if they could get a gray color for the walls and paint the trim and doors red.  You could tell he was hesitant but decided to go with Nana’s plan.

That evening Nana painted Emma’s bedroom while they slept.  She had purchased some white sheers with different colored butterflies all over them along with purple panels.  She got the curtains up.  They were cute.  When Emma got up the next morning you could hear her squealing with excitement.  Crystal had not had much sleep, but she woke up to Emma hugging her and telling her she loved it.  Great.  Nana worked on it all night.  Can you let me sleep in today?  Yes, ma’am sleep as much as you want.  Crystal must have been extremely tired.  She slept until about three o’clock.  She got up and the kids were doing their own thing.  Jacob was playing video games and Emma was watching makeup tutorials.

Crystal straightened up the house and began a simple dinner of spaghetti. She was thankful that the kids were easy to please.  Jacob was a little harder to get to eat vegetables but overall, she had never had a problem getting them to eat what she put on the table. They watched a movie together and off to bed they went.  Crystal dragged herself out to the garage and began sanding down the dresser.  She was going to paint it and the bed white.  She had some lavender paint left so she planned on using it on the dresser drawer fronts.  She worked well into the night to get everything done and set up.  As she took her shower, she could feel her muscles spasm. She was getting too old to move furniture around.  She went to bed and slept hard.  Again, the squeals from Emma came.  You could hear Jacob telling her to be quiet and let Nanna sleep.  Crystal smiled to herself.  So sweet of Jacob to think of her.  She rolled out of the bed and went out to them.  They were admiring the bedroom.

Well Emma, we should be able to finish your room up today.  Really, she excitedly said as she jumped around on the bed.  Yep.  Go look in the trunk of my car and bring the bags in. Crystal had been keeping new sheets, bedspread, lamp, and pictures in the trunk of her car.  She also had a big surprise for her in the closet.  They came in with all the bags.  Crystal told them to pull things out.  Crystal made the bed and hung the pictures.  Alright Emma, go get your personal stuff and move in.  Put your clothes away neatly.

Crystal went out to Jacob and told him they would work on his room the following weekend.  Thanks Nana.  He seemed content having his own space and video games, but he deserved a new room as well.  She sat down and called her brother to see if he would come over and hang a chandelier in Emma’s room later that day.  Emma could not believe she had a chandelier in her room.  She hugged her Nana’s neck tightly.  Thank you, Nana.  Thanks so much.  You are welcome baby.

It took Crystal all week to recover from doing Emma’s room.  Come the weekend she was determined to keep her promise to Jacob.  Jacob was spending the weekend with one of his friends.  She wanted him to be surprised when he got home.  She painted the walls gray but could not bring herself to paint the trim and closet doors red.  She painted them white and painted his dresser and bed red.  Looking around she decided to paint a wide red stripe around the room. She hung some red drapes and then she spelled his name out with large white wood letters inside the red stripe.  She made the bed with a grey bedspread and red throw blanket.  When she turned around, she was pleased. She hoped he liked it.  Jacob returned later that evening and was surprised by his room.  He loved it and loved his Nana.  He hugged her neck and told her thank you.

Crystal checked on both children and smiled when she saw them in their rooms.  This was their home and they were her children. They had grown fast. She laid across the bed and fell fast asleep clothes and all.