WCW: Great Grandma Lena

Happy Wednesay folks! I'm currently sitting at the courthouse for oh so fun jury duty(note the sarcasm)! Being as I'm gonna be here for a while, I decided to do a post. Also this will be my first time posting from the Blogger app so my apologies if the formatting is off or anything. 

As you can see from the title, my Woman Crush Wednesday is my beautiful Great Grandma Lena. This past weekend I got the chance to see her for the first time in about 12 years. The last time being when my Grandma Elizabeth(her daughter) passed away. This is my dad's side of the family and after my parents divorced back when I was about 13, I kinda lost touch with that side of the family. But this past weekend there was a family reunion down in Miami and my dad wanted to make sure that me and my sister went so we could reconnect with them as well as see Great Grandma because she is now 97 years old! I'm so glad I went because I had the best time ever and I didn't realize just how much I had missed everyone. 

Great Grandma was born in 1917 in Nassau, Bahamas. Her family moved to Key West, Florida where there was a large Bahamian population and it was there that she met and married her husband, a Jamacian man, when she was 20 years old. He was a very talented chef and worked in many upscale hotels up North which afforded them a pretty comfortable life. This was a pretty big deal for a Black family in the 30s. She had 4 children, the youngest being my Grandma Elizabeth. The family moved back down to Florida, settling in Miami and have been there since(and that's where my dad was born). 

I think the thing I love and admire most about Great Grandma is her spirit. She's 97 years old and still as sharp and independent as ever. 3 days a week she goes to a senior center(where she is the oldest) to socialize, exercise, play bingo, listen to music and dance. She has an incredible memory and sat with me and told me many stories from her childhood. She was a wild one! Haha! I also loved how she told me she dresses up everyday and that includes those beautiful pearls she's sporting in the picture. She feels a lady should always present herself nicely even when going to the store. Plus making an effort gives her something to do to keep her active, which is another reason she loves dressing up. 

The reality of the situation is that she knows she won't be here much longer but she doesn't let that stop her from living. It's sad to think about and when I was telling her goodbye she definitely said, "Well I hope I'm still here the next time you come down"...talk about gut wrenching. And it definitely makes me regret all those years that I didn't spend with her. But there's no use living in the past. I plan on seeing her as much as possible now. I'm hoping to go back down to Miami at least for Thanksgiving if not sooner. And I can only hope to be lucky enough to live a long and fulfilling life as she has. 

 Who is your Woman Crush Wednesday? 

MKD