GG

My mother came to visit last week. She flew by her 82 year old self from Lubbock, Texas at 10:00 a.m., stopped in Dallas, changed planes in Houston, and arrived in Tampa at 8:30 p.m. I am so proud of her for being brave!

As I drove away from the airport yesterday, I called my sister Linda to tell her GG was on her way home. We were talking about how blessed we were to have her as our mother and role model. Positive. Gracious. Remarkable. And as my new friend Melissa said after meeting her Sunday, "Your mother is just so darn cute!"

That, too.

She was the perfect guest. The closest she came to a negative comment was when we took her to the beautiful Don Cesar resort for dinner. It is a favorite place to take guests for a light meal on the beach. There is usually a wedding or two while we are enjoying our dinner and watching the sunset. I was reading her some menu choices when she saw the prices.

"Does that say $10.95 for a turkey sandwich?!"

"It's okay, GG. This is our treat." (What I didn't tell her was that she was looking at the wrong line item, and the sandwich was actually $12.95.)

She bragged on every little thing in and around our house.

She struck up meaningful conversations with strangers everywhere we went. This photo was taken at Vinoy Park by the bay. Within minutes, she was counseling this lady in pink who was unhappy in her nursing home, and had asked a man walking his dog is she could hold it!

She insisted that I not change one thing in my schedule just because she was here. (what schedule?)

I found her outside by the pool. "GG, do you want to go for a swim?"
"Sure! I brought my Speedo!"

We ventured to the Beall's outlet. "Don't even show me where the shoes are. I don't need any more!" She bought 2 pairs.

She encouraged me to buy a new purse at Dillard's...I celebrate that!

Her sandals came flying off the minute her feet hit the beach.

After church Sunday morning she said, "Well, on a scale of 1-10, I give your preacher a 10! Or 12!"

She just called while I was writing this to thank me for the perfect visit, and tell me about the people she met on the plane. It gave me a chance to tell her about one of the sweetest compliments. Last night at Ladies bible class, someone said the older they got, the less they thought they knew about God. The teacher, Sandy said, "Sometimes we can't see it in ourselves, but as we mature in Christ, we become more like Him. Like GG! How many of you met Carolyn's mother Sunday morning?" (Hands went up all around the room. She must have been working the crowd while I wasn't watching...) "When I met her mother, I said, 'I feel like I know you from somewhere'. Later I realized that it wasn't that we had actually met, but she just had that sweet, beautiful expression that comes from someone who has walked with the Lord her whole life."

My dad was the outgoing, social one. She willingly let him have the spotlight for over 50 years of marriage. We weren't sure what to expect after he died in 1999. It shouldn't have surprised us to see her find her own place, her own voice in the world. She did it with grace and dignity and a positive outlook on life that amazes those of us who love her.

That's our GG! You Go, Girl!