Fancy

Thirty Days of Thankfulness, Day 17

Who is the fanciest person you know?  Mine is my grandma, Janet, whom we call Nanu.  She was born just two months before the stock market crash of 1929 and spent her childhood living through the Great Depression.  She married young and soon had two beautiful children.  Things didn't go as she had planned, though, and she found herself raising those two children alone.  She gave her children everything she could, working full time in the business end of the auto industry here in Flint, MI.

I entered her world when she was 47, the firstborn child of her only son, and her first granddaughter.  From a very early age, I knew my Nanu was fancy.  She had a knack for entertaining and even a family Sunday dinner was an event.  There was always a kids' table and an adult table.  You had to earn your way to eat at the adult table-nothing but proper manners would be accepted.  And the food?  The food was always a-maz-ing.  Rack of lamb and prime rib and chicken paprikash, fancy layered salads and tiny fruit bowls and not only water glasses, but wine glasses, too.  And dessert?  Dessert was her specialty.  Homemade pies, cakes, cookies, and sundaes that would rival anything Martha Stewart has ever even dreamed of.  Have you ever been to one of those fancy tea party places?  That's what eating at my grandma's house was like every single time.  She still throws the occasional dinner party, and I'd consider yourself lucky if you make it onto that invitation list.

When she's not concocting a huge dinner, she's still in the kitchen.  For holidays such as Valentine's Day and Easter she makes glorious plates of her amazing sugar cookies for family and friends.  At Halloween, she makes platters of caramel covered apples and marshmallows and the most decadent wrapped homemade caramels you have ever tasted.  Christmas, though, is where she pulls out all the stops.  There is homemade Chex mix, homemade fudge topping that is to-die-for, and I'd say about twenty different varieties of Christmas cookies, all displayed beautifully on giant trays.  It takes her a couple weeks to get everything made and plated, and she has perfected her system over the years.  Christmas wouldn't be the same without all of her glorious treats.

While we're on the topic of Christmas, there's this other thing she does.  She handcrafts THE most beautiful stockings in the whole world.  Everyone, everywhere, in our family has one made by her.  They are all personalized and she keeps a list of who has which stocking so there aren't two of the same kind in our each individual families.  They are cherished treasures that are irreplaceable.

Growing up, I remember the times I stayed the night at Nanu's or stayed the week with her up at the cabin.  She taught me how to make pineapple upside down cake, and how to make the perfect corn fritters, and how to wrap presents like a professional.  She taught me that swimsuits are not proper attire for dinner, even at the lake, and that if you overcook the ingredients, your puffed rice candy will be as hard as a brick.  She always had a giant fruit plate on the table, which no one could pass without plucking at least a few grapes or a perfect plum from, and there were always gumdrops and bridge mix in canisters in the kitchen.  I think my kids really love this part about her, too!

Her style is another great part of her.  She has always worn tons of jewelry-fancy bracelets and watches and diamond-encrusted rings.  She always wears the perfect necklace or brooch and sparkly earrings, and she always has perfect hair and a fresh manicure.  She shops at Macy's and Laura Ashley and has an eye for style.  Her gifts always have included the latest trends in clothing and jewelry and makeup.  She shops all year round for gifts, and you can tell that a gift from her has been given lots of thought, attention and love.

My Nanu has always made time for me; she never says she's too busy or too tired.  She takes care of her family.  She has found a way, for all of these years, to persevere.  She has created a life and family to be proud of, and I am thankful that I get to have her in my life.