Resiliency

 

Resiliency

The month of February was 'enchantingly chaotic', more chaotic than enchanting but nevertheless very interesting! Early in the month I went to good ol' Versailles, Missouri for a wedding and got to see all my lovely Missouri friends again. As soon as I got home I got slammed with a nasty bug that held on for what seemed like an eternity. Then as if that wasn't epic enough I totaled my car on my way home from the gym headed for coffee. I am still depending on the kindness of others lending a vehicle to me in order to get from point A to point B but I'm hoping a new-to-me vehicle is soon on the horizon! 

I couldn't seem to gather much for writing inspiration with all the chaos chaos-ing but lately there has been a topic rolling around in my head that I think I would like to share with everybody. It is the topic of resiliency and the role my great grandmas influence played in my life. 

Her name is Wilma Nadine (Brown) Jennings. I am super stoked to tell you about her! 

Born on February 19, 1929, she was the 5th of 6 children. Hershel, her little brother and grandma were close buddies growing up on the family farm in Kinsley, Kansas. Born the year the stock market crashed and living in Western Kansas during the birth of the Great Depression AND the Dirty 30s, life would not prove to be easy yet somehow grandma and her siblings managed to smile through it all. Her father raised Clydesdale horses amongst other animals for farming purposes. Her parents made sure all of the children got a formal education and they all went on to college and valiantly secured lifelong careers. Grandma became an RN and her job was crucial during WWII. 

Grandma met the love of her life who had come home wounded in battle. She assisted in nursing him back to health and they would go on to from a relationship and get married in the 40s. They welcomed little girls, Laura and Bobbie to the family establishment. They lived in South Hutchinson, Kansas on then well known, B Street. Grandpa worked at Kelly Milling Company and Grandma was a night shift RN at the local hospital. They were a busy family and grandma would shop at Woolworths for the girls clothing more than she would sew. Every Sunday meant a time for Church and lunch on the town. The family were fairly accustomed to eating out with their busy lifestyle. 

There were always animals around Grandma's house. They usually had a Collie dog and a few cats. When I was born, their Collie dog named Rufus and my parents Brittany dog, Susie, would "fight" over who got to guard me while I played on the floor. They were the most gentle dogs as they tolerated me climbing all over them and tugging on their ears. Later on in my childhood the most well known pets at Grandma's were Peaches the Pomeranian and Boots the black cat with perfect white paws. My love for animals comes naturally and obviously dates as far back as my great-great-grandparents! 

Now, this post isn't just a biography about my wonderful great-Grandma's heritage although that is reason enough to write about her. But it is also about the very important role she played in my life and the strength she had during very uncertain times. Now, if you ask me, all of the people that grew up during the Great Depression and War Times were a resilient people. And grandma made it out with a college degree, a smile on her face, a love for people and so much generosity in her heart. When her daughters were young, Grandma was driving home from a late shift at the hospital, she was very tired and as she crossed the railroad crossing she was struck by an oncoming train. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt because her car back then didn't HAVE a seatbelt as they weren't mandatory until the 60s. She broke almost every bone in her body but survived and Doctors told her had she been wearing a seatbelt she would have died because the seatbelt would've likely decapitated her. She fought back from the many surgeries that ensued and returned to her nursing job. She remained as beautiful and poised as ever. 

I never met my great-Grandpa as he passed away from cancer just a few days before Christmas many years before I was born. I can't imagine Grandma trying to continue raising her almost adult daughters and watching her husband suffer from a horrible disease. I grew up to learn that Grandpa Bob was a little rough around the edges and struggled with PTSD from his time in the War. That being said, the home wasn't always as calm and happy as it could've been but Grandma remarked that divorce wasn't ever an option...she loved her husband and would see him through anything and everything and she did. 

If grandmas can be best friends, she was certainly one of mine! She was one of those grandma's that I would spend a few weeks with every summer and many weekends during the school year. When I would get off the bus from school, there were some afternoons her car would be sitting in our driveway and I would jump off the bus with glee as Peaches would greet me. I would always beg Grandma to stay for supper. 

I believe it is because of her that I began loving the elderly community. There were many a day it was Grandma chauffeuring other Grandma's around town, who had never learned to drive or whom couldn't see good anymore. We would stop at the Podiatrists and Optometrists often, the bank and Walmart. Walmart stops were my favorite because Grandma would often give me $5 to spend. Back then in the 90s it was as if $5 was $100 to me! In between stops we would need to stop for lunch and that was always at a mom and pop cafe of some sort. I would pray for McDonald's but that never happened. I slightly hated the cafes and got tired of being around the old people all the time and eating Grown Up Food. I look back now, and would give ANYTHING to go to the local cafe again with Grandma and her friends. I secretly coveted our special chauffeur dates with the other grandmas. I loved hearing their stories of the olden times and the many things they endured. 

I remember sitting in the back of her Crown Vic and beside me were two other grandmas and in front of me in the front passenger seat, usually sat, Ruby, who became one of Grandma's best friends. Ruby was also her next door neighbor when Grandma moved to Moundridge in the late 90s. Anyway, I remember looking up from my seat at Ruby's perfectly permed, white, curls. Ruby would turn her head slightly to look out the window and I would inspect her broad rimmed glasses and droopy, wrinkled cheeks. She was cute. I wondered if I would end up being a cute old person?

Grandma's home was always open-door. I knew that if I missed the bus home from school and dad was working late that I could just walk to her house. We would spend time in her later years watching TV Land. Mr. Ed, Leave it to Beaver, I Dream of Jeannie, you name it! Our favorite to watch together was The Golden Girls. When I got to have sleepovers at her house, I would rummage through her closet and put on pieces I thought went together and model them for her. I would brush her hair into ridiculous hairstyles and do her makeup, grab the hand mirror and would tell her she looked beautiful. She would take one look at herself and fall back in her recliner laughing. Another favorite thing we would do is go sit on the back porch and watch the hummingbirds visit her flower pots. There was usually a stray cat or two who claimed my Grandma as their new owner and the cat that stuck around the longest was a gray, female cat that I named Thunder. -- We also went on a few grandma-granddaughter adventures together. Once to Missouri and once to Arkansas. We went on these bus tours that were designed especially for grandparents and their grandkids. And of course when she would go on trips without me, she would be sure to bring back trinkets. To say she was a cool grandma would be an understatement. :) 

Wilma was always there for anybody. She cared for me many times when I was sick. Her living room couch could be folded out into a hide-a-bed. I spent many nights there. Once when we were coming home from town there was an old man who fell from his bike and gashed his head. She loaded him up in the car and took him back to her house to clean his forehead, contacted his wife and then took them both to the ER to make sure he was OK. I remember being along for that little adventure and admiring my Grandma's kindness. She without hesitation jumped right out to help someone she didn't know and went above and beyond to see it through that they would be alright. This was only one of many times she saved the day despite her busy schedule. My Grandma was the most selfless person I ever knew. She had the biggest, most inviting laugh with sparkling blue eyes that seemed to say "come on in and stay awhile." 

She raised her two daughters to be pretty tough too and they both inherited a kindness for people that was matchless. Grandma lost a son in his infancy but she didn't ever talk about it. She lost her daughter Bobbie in 2001 and that ordeal took a toll on her aging mind. She would then randomly talk about the baby boy she had lost and grieve him and Bobbie both at the same time. No mother should have to bury two children, not even one. After the loss of her daughter, Grandma's mind seemed to deteriorate more and more and eventually the family made the decision to move her to the local Nursing Home. I was in High School and worked at the Home as a CNA so I was able to see her as often as I worked. Even though she had trouble remembering a lot of stuff she never forgot who her family was. She always had a ready smile and hug for us. 

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I suppose in a nutshell that is the story of my Grandma Wilma. I harbor many, many more memories of her inside but I think the memories shared here shed a fairly bright light on her and her life. It might not have been overly evident that she came from a wealthy family but she did and she never let that define her either. She was always a very giving human. She attended Church every Sunday and I am happy to have her childhood Bible! She didn't talk so much about faith but you could certainly tell she had a connection with her Savior. 

I feel super blessed to have had someone such as her in my family. She was an active part of my life and I never left her home feeling unloved. It is my hope that if I am ever a grandma that I can be 1/2 the grandma she was to me! 

Always, always remember to be kind as can be. :) 

-- ginger 🌠