Day 4
Thinking About Memoir by Abigail Thomas
Sterling Publishing, 2008
Prompt: Write about a physical characteristic you are proud to have inherited or passed on.
My nana’s full name was Jennie Josephine Warner, born in 1895 to Mattie and John Fisher. Mattie died in childbirth, leaving newborn Jennie Jo and one year old Edith alone with their father. John, not knowing how to care for these two babies, eventually granted guardianship of his girls to his sister, making only occasional visits to his family.
When I see those stark facts about my maternal grandmother’s life, it crystallizes a bit of her early existence. Raised by an aunt and never knowing much about her father, Jennie Jo had a rough beginning. The little I know about her through my mother’s stories and Ancestry.com, it never did become easier. Married at twenty to a man who cycled through a litany of careers, Nana raised six children with little money and a plethora of pride. My grandfather Charles Henry died in 1951, leaving no money for Jennie Jo. Nana spent the rest of her life living with various relatives, never again calling any one place her own home.
Nana lived with us off and on until I was nine years old, but the only physical memory I have is the scent of her White Shoulders perfume. I see photos, but there is no solid connection, except for my birthmark. I have a white streak in the back of my dark hair, and Nana had one in the front. She was completely gray by the time I knew her, so these are only my mother’s recollections. When I was little, I was often teased about my hair. “You look like a witch, Witchie Poo!” Now, though, I am proud of my inheritance. Yes, the white faded over the years and is mixed in with gray streaks, but it is a part of Nana in me. No one else in my family, that I know of, has such an unusual birthmark.
Oh, I can also peel an apple in one long piece, and I’ve been told Nana could do that, too.
Nana, thank you for your gifts. Perhaps I can pass them onto future generations.
Upper left photo: Edith and Jennie Jo Fisher
Right photo: Jennie Josephine Fisher’s engagement picture
Lower left photo: Christie Lee Shumate