Speaking of Ida…

Hurricane Tropical Storm Ida is a total wuss. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed. There’s something to be said about spending the day on my couch watching Jim Cantore give a play-by-play as Stephanie Abrams battles the elements on The Weather Channel. Maybe it’s a Southern thing? Or should I say, a Gulf Coast resident thing? So, it’s kind of disappointing that we’re basically feeling nothing from this storm. Boring! However, I am relieved that we’re not experiencing a repeat of Ivan, Andrew, or Katrina.

Although Tropical Storm Ida is a wuss, I can tell you about an Ida who was NOT a wuss… my grandmother.

My grandfather Herb, who will celebrate his 90th birthday next month, married my grandmother Ida in 1944 (click here for super slick photos). She was only 20 on their wedding day, but could have easily taken him in a fight. She was a super tough tomboy. (That trait was obviously not passed down to me.) In fact, rumor has it that SHE carried HIM over the threshold!

Ida died of cancer in August 1984 at the age of 60. I had just started second grade and didn’t get to attend the funeral with my dad. I’m not sure if it was the expense of flying our family of four from Virginia to Florida or that my dad didn’t feel it was necessary for a child of my age to attend. I know she was already gone at that point, but it’s always made me sad that I wasn’t there for her funeral.

How hot is my aunt? For realz!

I’m pretty sure my dad and my aunt still wear those outfits regularly. And I’m 100% confident my granddad still wears that outfit.

Yes, I know I look like my dad.

For awhile, there were only three grandkids (those are my cousins, Brian and Gary). That little girl is so precious, is she not?! Eh-hmm.

Then my brother David was born…

…and he drove our grandfather to drink. Just kidding! Wait, is he drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon?!

I still wear my hair like that occasionally. Should I be concerned? Is it time to move on to a new hairstyle?

Some things never change… like my obnoxious smile and the view up my nostrils in every photo.

Whoa! What gaming system is THAT?!?! And more importantly…

What the crap am I wearing? No wonder my expression is so… unsettling. I apologize if this one gives you nightmares. I promise, I was not an evil child.

Enough of the pictures. Back to the post…

I love my grandfather’s wife as my grandmother, but I wish I had been given a chance to know Ida in this lifetime. I have so few memories of her, you know? I take comfort knowing we’ll be together in Heaven. We’ll have eternity to get to know each other.

p.s. – Happy birthday, Valerie and Jane!