A tribute to my Momma Hope

Beautiful, classy, proper, and wise...just a few words to describe my Momma Hope.  When she first moved to Hopkinsville after living in Florida, she drove a big yellow car that we called the banana...I will never forget the time she flew over the railroad tracks in that thing...I swear we were airborne!  She was a lover of make up and jewelry.  Everyday she dressed fully and always looked like she was ready for a nice dinner or church.  Lipstick and nail polish were always perfect.  Her nails were always long and shaped like she had been to the salon.  I used to always think her hair looked like earmuffs...she would go to the salon to get it washed and fixed.  She kept an immaculate home.   She was an independent woman...lived alone for most of my life (the last 30 plus years of hers).  She was able to take care of herself until the last couple of years and then most recently (about 9 months ago) she had to move into a nursing home.  She loved sweets and ice cream.  She would always keep a container of Bryers Vanilla Bean in her freezer.  She loved peanut butter.  She loved her soap operas...I just never really understood those things!  She enjoyed playing cards, and we would always play this game that we called the "Hopie" game which was named after her.  I honestly don't know the real name of the card game other than the Hopie game.  At a very early age...when I was in 6th grade...she began to teach me the importance of saving money.  I was starting to babysit, and she encouraged me to open a bank account to save my earnings, which I did.  Her handwriting was elegant...I always thought it looked so fancy.  Momma Hope loved church and regularly attend Southside Church of Christ (until she could no longer drive herself there).  She is a God fearing lady, and I know she is ready to spend eternity with her Heavenly Father.  She has lived an amazing 94 years.  I can't even begin to imagine what all she has experienced during her lifetime.  Born is 1924...so much history, huge moments in history which has shaped our country...she has lived through all of it.

Tomorrow I am going to see her for what is probably the final time I will see her alive.  I know it is her time, and I know she is ready...but it certainly doesn't make it any easier to say good bye.  I pray that she knows how much I love her.  I hope she knows how much I wanted her to be proud of me.  Being her granddaughter was such a blessing in my life, and I hope I was a blessing to her.   

Love you always Ellen Hope Gray Thomas

And today as I left her room, I said, "I LOVE YOU!" and she responded, "I LOVE YOU MORE!"