2 Peter 3:8 (GNT) - But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord's sight between one day and a thousand years; to him the two are the same.
Psalm 90:10 (GNT) - Seventy years is all we have — eighty years, if we are strong; yet all they bring us is trouble and sorrow; life is soon over, and we are gone.
Flowers like B&W grow all around my parents’ yard; they remind me of flowers like FIRST growing all over my grandparents’ yard. I knew this flower wouldn’t be around long, so I captured it. Since I see these flowers so often, I wanted the picture to have a timeless effect, so I made it black and white. I thought about how these flowers come and go so quickly. That thought lead me down the rabbit hole of questioning my existence, then to how people in this world make great impacts on other people, then I thought about 2 Peter 3:8, then I thought about Psalm 90, that led me to thinking about Grandma Aggie, which led me to thinking about an awkward encounter I had with my former employer. I really just be sitting outside getting lost in my thoughts; I love it.
I was hired at a store in Engelhard when I was 16; 6 months after Grandma Aggie passed away. One day I was organizing a shelf and the boss came up to me and started a conversation. A few questions in he asked “Aggie, she was your great-grandmother, right?” I smiled and replied, “yes she was”. He goes, “oh, yeah, she used to work for my father”. I froze. I looked at him and said “oh” and continued organizing the shelf. I think he said something else, but I don’t remember how the conversation ended.
Because I was raised to be respectful and not get angry when elderly people come at me sideways, I attributed his audacity to make that comment to his age. I also convinced myself he didn’t have any ill-intent when he made the remark. I mean, that’s what he remembered about her; she did used to clean his father’s house. However, it angered me greatly because he also knew she did way more than that. I thought to myself, “how dare he disrespect my grandma like that”. I know Grandma Aggie used to clean houses when she was younger, but I was upset about the old man’s remark because I felt like he was minimizing her life to just being a housekeeper.
Grandma Aggie was one of ten or eleven children. She married Granddaddy Charlie and they had five children; Charlie Jr, Eugene, Mary Elaine, and the twins, Doris & Dawn. I don’t know what years, but Grandma Aggie attended and graduated from Elizabeth City Teachers College. She returned to Hyde County and made a career as a teacher. I met Grandma Aggie when she was either 87 or 88 years was old.
In MOM & BABIES, I explained how Grandma Aggie was one of the women who gave me my emotional “fix” when I was younger. My earliest memories of Grandma & I are of us in the big white house, and she keeps repeating the same stories and asking me the same questions. I also remember how I used to walk up behind her and scare her when she was fixing her peanut butter crackers; she would always giggle. I stopped after that one time I almost made her drop the butter knife, though.
Grandma began losing her memory around age 97, I think. I used to ask her old how she was and she would say “either 87 or 89” and then follow up with “if you give me a pad and paper and tell me the date, I can tell you how old I am, I was born January 21st, 1907”. One time I gave her a pad and pencil. She had the most beautiful handwriting. I forgot what age she was when I gave her the pad and pencil, but once she calculated her age, she said “wow, well thank God”.
Grandma’s health began declining and she was placed in a nursing home. On December 16th, 2008, I was in the 9th grade and had just celebrated my 15th birthday. I had a home basketball game against Creswell that night. Around lunchtime, Grandma Dawn called me and told me she was picking me up and taking me to the nursing home because Grandma Aggie wasn’t doing well. When I got to the nursing home, I looked at Grandma Aggie; it wasn’t my grandma, or I didn’t want to believe it was her. I stayed for 3 hours and went back to school. As I walked out of her room, I just looked at her. I didn’t touch her, hug her, kiss her, nothing.
I didn’t wanna accept she was leaving. I mean, I prepared myself. We all knew what was going on, I just didn’t wanna really accept it. About 20 minutes after I was back at school, Grandma Dawn called and said Grandma Aggie passed away. She was 101 years old. I made one 3-pointer that night; and we lost the game.
Grandma Aggie was mentioned in the newspaper when she turned 97 years old. When she was asked what advice she would give to today’s generation she said “live right and do the best you can”.
So, this flower reminding me I will only be here for a short time, leading me to think about my sweet Grandma Aggie who lived 101 long years on this Earth, and that leading me to think about how that’s a long time for us but not even a blink to God, teaches me to make every moment count, for me. It doesn’t matter how others remember us, we’re all only here for a short time. I want to make my time here on Earth enjoyable for me and me only. I want to live right and do the best I can.
Life Lesson:
· I will only be here for a short time.
Psalms 103:15-16 (GNB) - As for us, our life is like grass. We grow and flourish like a wildflower; then the wind blows on it, and it is gone — no one sees it again.
How I Apply it to My Life:
· I make everyday count. Some days are productive days, some days are lazy days, some days are bad days, some days are good days; but everyday counts.
Song:
· Deitrick Haddon – Well Done
SLIDESHOW: Mrs. Aggie Nancy. Grandma Dawn snapped the picture of Grandma Aggie and I, 6 months before Grandma Aggie passed away (grandma with the purple blanket, me with the pink shirt).