More Mawmaw thoughts...

Below is what my cousin Danny wrote and read at Mawmaw's funeral:

MawMaw Kidd

Fannie, mother, momma, Aunt Fannie or Frizz is what my grandfather called her. I’m just going to refer to her as Mawmaw. Mawmaw has a wonderful spirit. She always greeted you with a smile and she loved to laugh. She could make you laugh without trying. Anyone that stepped on to her front porch was greeted the same way. She would say come on in and let me get you some tea, you want something to eat. She loved all people regardless of color, nationality or whether you were from the north or the south and she was always happy to have visitors. Mawmaw wasn’t afraid or intimidated by hard work. She loved to use her hands. She never had a license so she took the bus down Beatties Ford to Trade St. to work at the five and dime. She was a hard working farmer’s wife and she milked many a cows. She was an incredible seamstress and made clothes and pillows and crafts for family and friends and she won a lot of ribbons at the county fair for sewing or canned goods. She even won a singer sewing machine. She had a green thumb and could grow anything. Once she grew a tangerine tree from a seed and it was loaded with fruit on her back porch. She rooted boxwoods, had rows of magnolias for anybody that needed one. She had a big garden that she canned and cooked from and she could run a Merry Tiller as good as any man and better than most. She was an amazing cook. Uncle Frank would pick her up for Sunday school and church and she would still have Sunday lunch ready for 10 when we got there. We have many of her recipes but they never taste as good as hers. She helped raise her grandchildren, me and Donna and Annette and Erin and was like a mother and grandmother to many more. She loved her family. Her in-laws weren’t like in-laws, they were sisters and brothers. Mawmaw was a good Christian woman; she loved her Lord and she loved to read her Bible. She loved this Church and her friends here. Another important thing about MawMaw’s was her ability to see something positive in any circumstance, even in death or tragedy. Her glass was always half full, not half empty. She had several sayings or phrases that we’ll always remember, especially since she repeated them so often the last couple of years, and I mean often. One that has stuck in my head is, “that’s one good thing”. When someone died she said, “at least they didn’t suffer, that’s one good thing” or “at least they aren’t suffering anymore, that’s one good thing”. Another of her sayings lately was “Are you ok?” She said it over and over, but that speaks volumes. She wanted to be sure we were ok. Yes MawMaw, we’re ok because we know that you’re ok now, with Jesus and with Pawpaw and with all your friends and family that have been waiting for you. We’re ok because of all you taught us and your unconditional love and the legacy you left. We’re ok because we love the Lord and we’ll meet you there one day. We’re ok because you are in heaven now, and that sure is “One very good thing”! Thank you Mawmaw, and Thank you Jesus!