I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Nana and I have a bit more in common then our grandmother and granddaughter bond. She was a woman who loved to write and she absolutely adored children. In fact, since I also like to doodle, I helped illustrate one of her books the family decided to publish as a surprise to her about 10 years ago.
Unlike myself, Nana kept her writings mainly private. I had to beg for a copy of one of her many tales for years and years. It proved to be worth the wait though.
"The Cloud that Touched the Hill" is a very sweet story. One of it's main characters is a boy named "Charlie" who was clearly modeled after Nana's real life brother Jean and "Arthur" the dog was based on Nana and Poppops's own dog, an over sized shaggy English Sheep Dog also named Arthur.
In addition to many personal memories of Nana herself, Nana left us all with this very special legacy. A legacy that I can share with my children and they can share with their children. A gift that in fact can be shared generation after generation in the form of written prose intended to touch the hearts of children.
The icing on the cake for my children and myself is the fact that Nana personally signed and inscribed each of our copies of her book. These inscriptions provided to be much needed solace last night as I tucked one of the kid's into bed. Cordelia and I read the book together. I then pointed out the inscription to her that said "May your Dreams touch the Sky! I love you very much. Sincerely, Nana"
Cordelia vowed to work on having big dreams. I promised to have big dreams too. I venture to guess many children in our family will be taking this advice for years and years to come.
And Nana, she is now in the heavenly sky, likely surrounded by the Clouds that Touched the Hill.
Thanks, Nana. We love you too!