Nana at Ninety

Not too long ago, ok ok a month ago, Little One and I hit our 37th airplane together to head down to New Mexico for a very special occasion. A birthday party! But not just any birthday party. My nana's 90th.
My Nana, she is something. She was born about a pound and a half. Her grandmother swore she saved nana's life by feeding her drops of whiskey and keeping her in the warmer compartment of the woodburning oven. She slept her first few months in a shoebox.
And that beginning, well. It really tells it all. Spurred on probably from that early cradle, Nana always has had an incredible obsession with shoes, and used her size 5 feet to model them so she could keep the wares.
The smoke from her makeshift incubator likely gave her a taste for the stuff (she's smoked since she was 10), and also taught her how to thrive under fire. And I think it's safe to say that there's still some whiskey left in her, after all this time.
By which I mean that- as you can tell from her coming into the world with slim chances and making it to 90- she's always had a good dose of fight in her, diminutive as she may be.
From that first day nana's mother was told not to bother with her, nana has never given a darn what anyone else thinks or expects her to do. She does things her own way.
Luckily for us, that Way typically involved rampant spoiling where grandchildren were involved.
I cannot even begin to think of Nana and all the memories from summers and Easters spent at her ranch in Texas. The fun levels and glycemic index are at the top of the charts. This is a lady that deserves a big fat party! So she got one. It was a three day long affair in New Mexico, where she now lives (ahem....reigns), appropriately accompanied by mariachis and doused in hot enchilada sauce. It was awesome! And since I have lots more to say about nana, but don't know where to start or whether anyone is still reading at this point, here is my contribution to the nana speeches given at the party:


10 of the top 90 reasons Nana rocks:

1) She will give you candy when your mom isn't looking.

2) She keeps me trendy with her shoe hand-me-downs.

3) She knows how to properly eat mashed potatoes (family secret).

4) She can and will kick butt and swear in Spanish if you are getting harassed by random men in Mexico.

5) She can and will kick butt and swear in Spanish if you are getting harassed by anyone, anywhere. Or if you jump on her bed.

6) She understands the value of important things in life like shoes, chocolate, and strong coffee.

7) Enchiladas.

8) She can and will make you laugh hard enough to pee in your pants.

9) At her 90th birthday, she will be the prettiest one in the room.

10) And she will probably party the hardest.