Jeanne Marie Rayburn - My NANA

I want to tell you about my Nana. She had a stroke and passed away last week and I have been ok with it all week. I am happy that she is back with Papa and not hurting anymore. I have been preparing myself for her to leave this earth for awhile. But today I just feel sad. She was a REALLY great grandma and I was her favorite! Ok, I don't really know that for sure, but that was what she was good at - making whichever grandchild in her presence feel like they are the favorite! She would come pick me up and take me to her house to spend the night and be away from all my six siblings for the day. We would make dinner together and I would get to take a bath in her HUGE tub, then sleep in the guest bedroom in a queen size bed all by myself with no sisters kicking me or steeling the covers. There was a plaque on the wall in that room that said "don't count your chickens before they hatch" with a hen on it. I would wake up to the smell of hot coffee (no I didn't get any, but still love the smell), and if it was a school day, get ready for school and then walk to the bus stop by her house and go to school. It was always fun. Sometimes my brother would come too, but not always.

One summer she and Papa took all the grand kids that wanted to go and were old enough, camping for a few days. It was the coolest thing ever! They had a trailer, but the kids all slept in tents. She washed me and my cousin Keri's hair in the creek - oh so cold, but fun none the less. Papa taught us how to catch flies in our hands -cool! She would play Skip-bo all day with us. We learned to clean fish - yuck (although at the time it was really cool!) and fry it up. We had to go into town about three times because as she says "boy, you kids can EAT!"

She always wore Keds shoes: Blue, red, striped, white, whatever matched her shirt, and white, tan, or blue pants. And she always sat with one leg up on the other knee.

Her hair was always white (unless you count that time when it was pink and blue hued), always high on her head like a beehive.

She hated her picture taken but would let us none the less.

She crocheted and sewed beautifully and I have a few beloved things to show for it.

She helped me make a decision on whether I should marry a guy once - (no not Chad, in fact she thought I was crazy when I told her I was marrying Chad because it wasn't too long after our conversation about some other guy!) She didn't say "don't do it", but asked me questions that made me contemplate my true feelings and make the decision to not do it a lot easier. Once that was done, it opened me up for Chad to come in and those same thought provoking questions helped me to say YES to my sweetie!

My Nana was a special lady. She was my mom's mother and taught her well. I am grateful for that. She was an example to us all. I never saw her argue with my Papa either. They always showed nothing but tolerance and love toward one another. Oh, I have so many memories with this great lady. She will be missed. I look forward to the day when I will see her and Papa again. Nana, I love you.