Dear Nana...

Part 1 of 2

Dear Nana,
These 2 posts are dedicated to you.  Thank you so much for the role you have played in my life- for all the prayers you have prayed, for sitting at my basketball and volleyball games when I was in high school, for never failing to tell me how beautiful you think my Ellie is and how you know God choose her for our family.  Thank you also for giving this granddaughter of yours a special memory for her 13th birthday- a memory that, as an adult, turned into a tradition that I have carried on for my kids. I admire your independent spirit, the twinkle in your eye, and that you have loved the Lord through incredible heartache.
I Love you,
Steph


As my cousin Sally's phone was ringing yesterday, my cell pressed up against my ear, I had already been thinking about what I was about to ask her for hours.  I had woken up with 2 things on my mind this New Year's Eve day- The first thing on my mind was our friends Dale and Bonnie (KK and Code Man)....they would be waking up to the 10th anniversary of their sister Janet's passing....She was killed in a car wreck on New Year's Eve of 2004 (we love you D,B,K,C).  The second thought was where I was 25 years ago....

'Hey Sal, guess where you, nana, and I were 25 years ago on New Year's Eve?'

I have mentioned my Nana on my blog a few times- She is our grandma on my dad's side.  My nana became a widow when she was in her early 50's- I wish I could say that I remember meeting my grandpa Ray but he died from stomach cancer a few months after I was born.

My Grandpa Ray and Nana had 3 children who went on to have 11 children of their own:

•  My dad Rick- He has Anne Loree, Jodi, me, Chris, & Levi
•  Aunt Petra- Who has Monica, Jay (who passed away), and Sally
•  Aunt Anne- Who has Luke, Molly Muffin, and Anna

A trait I admire about my nana is her independence.  To this day, 9 months shy of 90 years old, she lives on her own, in the house that she raised her kids in- A house that has deep family roots, where many a Chamberlain Family get together has taken place over the 50+ years she has lived there.  Living on her own looks a bit different even than it did 5 years ago (she has some help when it comes to remembering to take her medications etc.)but none the less my almost 90 year old nana still lives on her own.

Nana embraced her 50's, 60's, 70's, and early 80's by traveling, gardening, and playing racquetball.  It did not surprise me several years ago to pick up our local paper and see my nana and her racquetball partner making our headlines for faithfully playing racquetball a couple times a week at our local gym (I think the reporter was shocked not only how long they had been playing racquetball together but their age).

Most of us grandkids were able to be a part of my nana's passion to travel.  For our 13th birthday she would give us the gift of a trip in a way that did not spoil us but gave us an opportunity to see outside our home state of  Oregon if we choose...

'You can choose anywhere in the United States to go BUT you must save up the money to pay for your own food'



As my sister Jodi and cousin Sally turned 13 in 1987 they jetted off for a weeks long trip to Hawaii with my nana....It never even crossed my mind as someplace to choose......
My brother headed down to Disney Land, my Cousin Luke and Molly to the Billy Graham Camp in Tennessee (where, at 13 Luke met his future wife Becca), Anna to Monterey...

For years before my thirteenth, I had been developing a fascination with cold weather- What did it feel like to be in below zero temp's?  What was it like to ice skate?  What was it like to have your hair frozen to your head?

On Dec. 26, 1988, 3 months after my thirteenth birthday AND with the date in Dec. specially chosen because our destination was supposed to be experiencing frigid freezing temps, my cousin Sally, nana, and I boarded our plane.....


p.s. Happy New Year!!

Nana, earlier this year, with most of her great grandchildren