Hit the Nana, Win a Prize

Last Saturday, on April 18th, my Nana, Mary Frances (Berry) Dwyer, passed away. Those of you who know my family know how close we all are-5 Dwyer children, 16 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren (and two on the way!) Holidays are always somewhat of a grand spectacle--and no occassion is complete without laughter. To say this great woman will be missed is a bit of an understatement. I know there will be quite a few tears for her death, but I also know there will be much laughter as we celebrate her life.

I think my grandparents have the most amazing love story, and they have clearly set the bar for the rest of us. My grandparents met during WWII, in a letter. It seems so strange to us, because we don't write very many letters anymore, unless you include e-mail, but there really is nothing quite so thrilling as opening the mail and finding a letter. You see, my grandparents had mutual friends who had tried to get them together on a number of occassions, but it never worked out. And, as fate would have it, my grandfather (William Francis Dwyer) had just left Connecticut for Air Force training in Texas. So, when my Nana was at their mutual friends' house, they convinced her to add a post-script (also known as p.s.) to one of the letters they were sending to my grandad. He wrote back! And so began a long correspondence. They met once, for a few hours in NY, when my granddad was on leave (my Nana was a Navy Nurse stationed in Long Island at the time). Nothing dramatic occurred at that meeting, but when he returned to Texas, he realized how he felt about her. They began to express their love for each other, and to talk about their future together. When he returned from his tour of duty in the Southern Pacific, they got married . . . right after Thanksgiving in 1944. They had spent very little time together, yet they just knew how they felt about each other. They raised 5 kids--four boys (including my dad) and one girl. I know many people feel this way about their parents, but my dad is just about the greatest man in the world (comparative only to Philip), and I have my Nana and Granddad to thank for that. My Granddad passed away from colon cancer 35 years ago, and my Nana never remarried. In fact, two years ago, when I was telling my Nana how happy Philip made me, and how he is my very best friend, she told me she felt the same way about my Granddad, and that she still talked to him every night . . . how strong her love was, and how strong her faith must have been, that he was waiting for her in heaven, listening to everything she told him.

And so, even though the loss of this great woman is hard to bear, I take great comfort in knowing she and my granddad are together again with Uncle Jack, Aunt Floss, and all who have left before us, and that they are there, talking and laughing, and watching us all. My mom says that for every death, there is new life . . . and I believe this is true. It will take two babies to fill part of the hole left by Mary Frances Berry Dwyer, and I know they come into a family full of love, life and laughter. How lucky we are all to be a part of it . . . how lucky these two babies will be. (Just a note, we are not having twins although we would be doubly blessed . . . my cousin Eileen is pregnant with her 2nd child and due in June.)

"God Bless us Everyone . . ."