Nana
It's been a while since I have posted here, and while I have planned on writing something, work, or an overwhelming sense of procrastination has kept me from doing so. Now, as I sit here at my kitchen table, a couple of days after Christmas, recovering from a nasty cold, I know what I want to write about. My Nana.
Now, obviously, you don't know who she is, so let me tell you.
I was born in the small town of Aberdare in South Wales, back in 1973. My father was one of the local GPs, and we lived in a council home in Cwmbach. We didn't have much money, but what we did have was an abundance of love - for each other, and from the community that we were a part of. When my mother was pregnant, since I was her first, my father wanted to get her some help. So he turned to one of his patients, Mrs Marion Roberts, who became my Nana.
Nana's husband had died when they were young, and she was raising her son by herself. I guess my dad felt that it would be a mutually beneficial situation - my mum would get some help, and at the same time, Nana was able to make some extra money to help support her family. I've been told that she is one of the first people to hold me after I was born, and if my parents went anywhere, she came with us. I have fond but vague memories of her from my early childhood - teaching me to sing along with people like Jim Reeves, Englebert Humperdink and Roger Whittaker.
As time went on, and my sister and brother were born, Nana became a more integral part of our family. She's been with us twice to India, and has met pretty much our entire family. She calls my grandparents her brothers and sisters, but lets them know that my mum is her daughter too!
Basically, Nana is part of our family. As she got older, I didn't get to see her as much, especially over the last few years, since I moved to the US. I last saw her in January 2004, the last time that I went home. She was very frail then, and had trouble remembering things. Her flat had been broken in to a a few weeks earlier, and she was worried about her safety. We had reminisced about a lot of old memories. There's one particular memory that I have, and it involves Nana and I going to Aberdare Park for a fair. I can't remember what the fair was about, only that there were lots of stalls, and games, and people having fun. At one of these games, we won a soft toy - a large Panda bear - which was almost as large as I was. I can still remember that bear.
Since my mum and I were the only ones visiting, I took it upon myself to ask Nana who her favourite grandson was :o). So I used my camera to film her saying that I was #1, my sister was #2, and my brother was #3. She then went on to say that she had forgotten my (now ex) brother in law too - and I said that he was English! She chastised me and told me that he was British! She was proud to be Welsh, and it was always something that we used to joke about.
Here's the clip that I took.
Now, obviously, you don't know who she is, so let me tell you.
I was born in the small town of Aberdare in South Wales, back in 1973. My father was one of the local GPs, and we lived in a council home in Cwmbach. We didn't have much money, but what we did have was an abundance of love - for each other, and from the community that we were a part of. When my mother was pregnant, since I was her first, my father wanted to get her some help. So he turned to one of his patients, Mrs Marion Roberts, who became my Nana.
Nana's husband had died when they were young, and she was raising her son by herself. I guess my dad felt that it would be a mutually beneficial situation - my mum would get some help, and at the same time, Nana was able to make some extra money to help support her family. I've been told that she is one of the first people to hold me after I was born, and if my parents went anywhere, she came with us. I have fond but vague memories of her from my early childhood - teaching me to sing along with people like Jim Reeves, Englebert Humperdink and Roger Whittaker.
As time went on, and my sister and brother were born, Nana became a more integral part of our family. She's been with us twice to India, and has met pretty much our entire family. She calls my grandparents her brothers and sisters, but lets them know that my mum is her daughter too!
Basically, Nana is part of our family. As she got older, I didn't get to see her as much, especially over the last few years, since I moved to the US. I last saw her in January 2004, the last time that I went home. She was very frail then, and had trouble remembering things. Her flat had been broken in to a a few weeks earlier, and she was worried about her safety. We had reminisced about a lot of old memories. There's one particular memory that I have, and it involves Nana and I going to Aberdare Park for a fair. I can't remember what the fair was about, only that there were lots of stalls, and games, and people having fun. At one of these games, we won a soft toy - a large Panda bear - which was almost as large as I was. I can still remember that bear.
Since my mum and I were the only ones visiting, I took it upon myself to ask Nana who her favourite grandson was :o). So I used my camera to film her saying that I was #1, my sister was #2, and my brother was #3. She then went on to say that she had forgotten my (now ex) brother in law too - and I said that he was English! She chastised me and told me that he was British! She was proud to be Welsh, and it was always something that we used to joke about.
Here's the clip that I took.
posted by Manoj at
5:19 PM
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