WWJD

A few years ago (oh hell, who am I kidding, it was probably more years ago than I want to admit,...) there was a trend: people wore bracelets, shirts, stickers, etc emblazoned with WWJD.  It stood for What Would Jesus Do?

That's not what this post is about. This one is about Janet. What would Janet do?

Janet is Mom, Momma, Nana, Big Sister, Auntie, Wife, Friend, Social Director, and when said by a teenage daughter in *just* the right tone, MUTH-er!!!

She's the one who lost her own mom when she was just 18. She's the one who left the only place she'd ever known and came to the foreign land of Tennessee with two girls under the age of 4, yet somehow managed to practically run the neighborhood within six months. She's the one who fascinated an entire town with one syllable - say it with me - pahk.

She's the one who taught her girls to be strong and independent (she would later regret that at times, as perhaps her daughters were a tad TOO independent, especially that Little One). She's the one who made sure her daughters knew and appreciated their Faith, yet allowed them be their own selves and to question it at times.  She's the one that instilled an incredible love for reading in her girls (probably because those girls were not allowed tv's in their bedrooms).

She's the one who makes the best spaghetti sauce and clam chowdah on the planet, and who made sure her girls knew how to do just the same.  She's the one who put herself through college when her girls were still in middle school. She's the one who would not let her teenage smartass daughter have her own way, proceeded to write a letter to the editor of the Memphis paper, and from there become every parent's hero and every teenager's nightmare (said now many years later with incredible understanding). 

She's the one who made watching The Wizard of Oz and Sound of Music every year an event.  She's the one who took her girls to Mud Island on a regular basis, and to go walk around the Cobblestones on the Mississippi. She's the one who took her girls on picnics at the Penal Farm and to feed the ducks at the Hungry Fisherman (and if you are reading this and you grew up in the 80s in Memphis, you're loving it). 

She's the one who showed up at her daughter's house the day before her granddaughter was to be born, bringing instant relief to that terrified daughter. She's the one that has doted on that granddaughter - but somehow managed to not spoil her. She's the one who made sure that granddaughter knew all sorts of silly stories about her mom and aunt. She's the one who fascinates that granddaughter with pahking the cahr.  (She's also the reason that said granddaughter will NOT have a tv in her room either...)

She's the one who is the definition of Foster Parent.  Not to kids, not in the traditional sense. She's the one that comes to town and makes instant friends, and adopts those who need more than a friend. Men, Women, Young, Old, Red, White, Brown and Yellow. She doesn't care. She's the one that will make sure you are well fed and never alone.  She's the one that made sure as hell her daughters do the very same in their own adult lives. 

She's the one, that above all else, has taught endless lessons, just by being herself.  She has taught self-confidence. Independence. Humility. Acceptance. What really matters in life - and to be clear - it is NOT Louis Vuitton purses and stress in Corporate America.  She has taught forgiveness. Letting things roll off of one's back. 


She's the one that has made sure there are endless happy memories for so very many people. 

She's Janet. She is my mom. She is Eileen's Nana. If I'm lucky, Janet sees this before she leaves this Earth. If I'm lucky, I will someday be half the person she is. 

If you're reading this, you should know this post doesn't even scratch the surface of all that is Janet.  It is just a peek into the life of an incredible woman, who has touched an incredible amount of people, most of all her family. 

I'm not sure if Janet will make it (in the traditional sense) to her next birthday; I can say with 99.9% certainty she won't make it to Easter, Mothers Day or to Eileen's First Communion. I can, however, say with 100% certainty that her incredible spirit and presence will be here with us for all of those events, and every other event that is to come. 

I can't yet wrap my head around what the next days, weeks and years will bring. I will, however, make it my mission to honor her memory in every way person. 

And the best way to do that, as far as I can tell, is to constantly ask myself: WWJD?

What Would Janet Do?