Friday, September 16, 2016
Unfortunately, when people leave this plane, they don’t always give us a lot of notice. Because I simply cannot make it home in time for the service, I want to leave a few words here to let others know what she meant to me.
Nanny Post was my lighthouse. She was my shelter from the storm throughout a turbulent childhood. In her presence I was able to relax, exhale, and dream. She never criticized or scolded. She didn’t try to educate me about anything. She simply let me be.
Both her house and her embrace were warm and loving. Nooks, drawers and closets were full of treasures and nothing was off limits. She did grandma things, like bake brown bread and molasses cookies. She let me try on her clothes and jewels. I was allowed to root around in the garden without direction, hammer away on the electric organ, and roller skate in endless circles in her basement full of sharp tools and shelves lined with glass jars of beets and pickles. She may have wished I would stop, but she never let on.
Contrary to her traditional roots, she never once pressured me to settle down or produce children. In fact, she was my sole champion whenever I ended a relationship. I LOVED calling to tell her any time I had broken up with another boyfriend. “Good for you! If he doesn’t treat you right, you don’t need him!” was the usual response.
When I did finally find a mate “worth his salt”, she embraced and loved Kevin wholeheartedly and was happy that I had found someone worth waiting for. And still she did not ask about children.
I’m sure I shocked her on more than one occasion with my forthright nature, but I never felt the need to hide anything from her as her acceptance and her love always felt unconditional and absolute.
She is at the center of so many of my happy childhood memories. I have always been, and will be eternally grateful for having her in my life.
