Our Nana
Me and my
brother, Maz, had some luck.
We had two hard-working parents.
We never went hungry.
We had everything we could want... and more.
We grew up under the loving care of our Nana.
She was always there.
She is mom’s adopted sister, about 20 years older.
She helped raise two generations of my family.
We never came home to an empty house.
We never had to throw a quick meal together.
We never needed daycare or a babysitter.
She watched over us…
as we
grew
as we
played
She taught us…
to
cook
to
play cards
to
crochet
to
laugh
She’d spend hours cooking for us…
Kibeh
Yebrah
Maamoul
We used to help her
cracking the ends
off green beans
peeling artichokes
eating all the
scraps
We watched over her as she aged.
Three years ago she visited me for two weeks.
It was wonderful although I worried about leaving her home
alone. Shortly after returning to
My Mom found a place for her to heal.
Little
Sisters of the Poor is an international congregation of women who have
dedicated their lives to serving the elderly across the world. We were fortunate that they have a home
nearby ours.
Thanks to my mother, Nana went there to rehabilitate.
She stayed there and more challenges came over the years.
Small strokes
Difficulty speaking
Difficulty getting around
It was a frustrating time for her and for us.
I remained in
Maz, my parents, and the folks at Little Sisters looked after Nana.
The gifts we receive are sometimes difficult to recognize.
Maz and I are brothers again and it has much to do with Nana.
My respect and admiration for him continue to grow. I knew he was an exceptional physician. I learned by watching him take care of Nana,
just how compassionate, loyal, and forgiving he is. He spent more time than anyone (except for maybe Mom) with Nana
in the past three years. I smile when I
remember the phone messages from Nana on Maz’s cell phone.
I thank God for the gifts we’ve been given in the past year. Emily reminded me how our wedding brought
people together.
Thanks to the wedding, before she died Nana got to see:
her brother, Afif
his wife, Maria
her nephew, Khaled
my uncle Elias and his
family
We Love you, Nana