Nana is 90

My Nana, the matriarch of our family and one of the strongest women I've ever known, turned 90 years old yesterday. She is my only surviving grandparent. There are so many wonderful things that I could tell you about her, but above everything else what has always stood out to me is her sense of family and her desire to keep her family together. It was my Nana and Papa who made sure that all of the cousins (me and my cousins) spent our summers together. As a result of all of those years of time spent with my cousins we are all still in contact and see each other regularly. My cousins are special people in my life and not just some distant memory that I have of childhood. My Nana has endured a lot in her life, and even at 90 she is a complete optimist. She's also the youngest 90 year old I've ever met.

So family and friends (some of whom have been family friends for all of my Nana's adult life) from around the country gathered yesterday to honor Nana. There were about 75 people in attendance, and it was such a great day to just reflect on her life and the love that she has given to all of us over the years. She's amazing.

Here's a video that was taken as we sang Happy Birthday to her. One of the things I love most about the video is that she sings it to herself right along all of us singing it to her. That's my Nana. You can't see a large majority of the people that were there, but it was an awesome turnout for a wonderful woman.