She will be forever missed.

If I've ever learned the importance of anything in this world, it would be love. My grandmother was a stubborn woman- and you'd better believe she could verbally spar with the best of the facetious people in this world. My nana never considered anything in her life to be a mistake and she loved every single person who crossed her path. Now if she didn't like you, you would have known it. 

Now, I'm not going to get into my whole family story because it would take years to explain. But to put it simply, my nana is my step-grandmother.  She married my Pop-pop in Las Vegas in 1979 and it changed her life. She became a Christian and finally fell into a loving relationship. My real grandmother was never one to be admired, and aside from one phone call as a child, I never knew her. But my nana was something else. The greatest part about it, is that of all the members of my family, the one I was always the closest related to was her. We may never have been connected by blood, but something so much more intense was there.

My nana was truly an amazing person. I doubt anyone in this world could say a cruel thing about her. I have never known anyone as strong as she was. She was, and remains, my inspiration. Her memorial made things real for me, and it was hard to face. But it also reminded me of the fact that if she saw the whole room of us crying, she would have chased me around the house trying to swat my butt with a pillow. She would've pointed her bony little finger and said, "Now ya'll quit that crying, because I'm home now." I miss her so much, but I know that she is in a better place. After 3 years without her love, she is back with him. And after too many years of a body that did nothing but let her down, she finally doesn't need it anymore. My heart will be heavy, but I can't say that I'm not happy too.

My cousin Cassidy on the left, with her grandma (my grandma's sister) Ruby, and me on the right with Nana. This picture was taken last Christmas.