Granny Denise

Dustin and I have recently discussed what his mom would have liked Southern to call her. My mom has had a hard time picking out a name. With 7/8th of our grandparents still alive, the usual names are already taken. We have a Grandma, two Grannys, and a DeDe. So I was trying to think of something different we could call his mom. We eventually went back to Granny though. We call Denise's mom Granny Ehlers, and her mom's mom was called Granny too. When Dustin and Carly were born, they just started calling her Great Granny. I think this is what we'll do with Granny Ehlers too. We decided it's what Denise would have liked. So she will now be Granny Denise, and Granny Ehlers will be Great Granny.

As it sometimes happens, we don't know the why, but God needed another angel in heaven one steamy day in July of 1991. Dustin and Carly lost their mom. I never even had the chance to meet her, but she's left a hole so big in my life I can't even begin to imagine how Dustin and Carly feel. But from old home movies, stories, and my own imagination, I feel as though I know her.

And strangely enough, I believe I actually met her once. I had a very vivid dream the night before I married Dustin, and she was in it. We were just hanging out. Dustin was there, my mom, her, Granny Ehlers, Carly. We were sitting around in an empty auditorium somewhere. Carly had something going on that day that we were there to watch. So we were just waiting. And talking. I remember she asked me about my dress and my flowers. It was as if she had been around the whole time. She knew most of the details of our wedding planning already. It was just small talk. We watched Carly do her thing on stage, and when it was over, there were hugs all around. After I hugged her, she pulled back, smiled at me, and said see you soon. I woke up feeling as though it all actually happened. I think it was her way of letting us know she's watching over us. And the night before I was to wed her son, she welcomed me into the family.

I want Southern to grow up knowing her too. So I've already begun talking about her to him. He knows that he has a grandmother in heaven watching down over him. And her name is Granny Denise.