Five Generations

This composite photo hangs by my front door. More people comment on it than the huge photograph of the Sangre de Cristo mountains above our couch or the Emmy above the television.  And well they should.

This photo is of the five generations of women in my family.  Our mothers.  Our daughters. The last three of us firstborns.

The other four women in this photo have had a profound and lasting impact on my life that can never be replaced, forgotten, or matched.

These photos were all taken on the same day, just before Lillyan turned one year old. Most of us look the same, now a year and a half later, and Lillyan looks even more like the rest of us.

If you’re having trouble with the math, that’s Lillyan with her mother (me), her Grandmother (GeeBee), her Great Grandmother (who we all call Grandma) and her Great Great Grandmother. Yes, you read that right. Lillyan is blessed to have her Great Great Grandma around to laugh and giggle and tickle and love on.

Here they are sharing a smooch at our cousin Jamie’s wedding. Lillyan and her Great Great Grandma make each other very happy.

This lady is one of Lillyan’s favorite people on the earth (mine too, truth be told). She’s not the kind of grandma that takes you shopping for school clothes or pays your way for cooking lessons or sends you a check for your birthday. She’s the kind of Grandma that is there for every single one of your ballgames, plays, forensics meets, and silly programs. Her rule for cooking is this: As soon as you’re big enough to sit up by yourself, you’re big enough to sit on the counter beside the mixing bowl. She’s the kind of Grandma who makes cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies so scrumptious that your grade school friends are still talking about them and your college friends are still begging for her to send them some.  She’s the kind of Grandma who will spend tireless hours entertaining your own daughter (Lillyan) with books and baking and pretending and singing songs about Jesus. She’s the kind of Grandma that no one would ever guess that she has Leukemia and has been on chemotherapy treatment for a year and half.

If you think about it, say a prayer for God’s healing hand on my Grandma today. She now has a blood infection that’s keeping her in the hospital. If you talk to her, though, she’ll tell you she feels great. She probably does.