BECOMING GRANNY GREAT
This photo was taken in our back yard one fall when Buzz and Becce came down for a weekend with their son Blue. They were living in Hickory, North Carolina, and Becce was taking some Montessori training classes in Columbia. Patrick was just a few years older than Blue and enjoyed showing him around our Williamsburg West neighborhood and a visit to the ducks on our “lake” was mandatory. Mother was spending some time with us and enjoyed their visit so much.
Although she wasn’t at all thrilled when she married into the Eaves family at the age of 37 to have them assign her the name “Granny” for the two Eaves grandsons, it eventually became acceptable. As more grandchildren came along, she had warm and loving relationships with all of them. “Granny” began to sound sweet when they used it lovingly. By now, most of those grandchildren had children of their own. On this visit, Blue began to understand who his “Granny Great” was, and it was truly a term of endearment when he said it.
For the Eaves grandsons like Buzz, Granny was the only Eaves grandmother they’d ever known. It never seemed to make a difference that they were not “blood kin”—the relationship was genuine.
This is a favorite photo of Granny with grandson Jerry, Tootsie’s oldest son. It was taken at Tootsie’s home during the Christmas holidays one year—probably after Sunday church. Jerry was such a gentle and loving person, and always attentive to his mother and Granny. He was the only grandson who lived in Athens (or Etowah) and there were many visits back and forth, with shared meals, birthday and holiday celebrations together.
Over the years, it became clear that personal relationships are ever so much more important than the titles we give each other.
Seeing a story 