Naked and Afraid - Nana Edition

The serious title of this blog would likely have been, “life goes on.“ But who wants to read something that sounds that pensive? It’s actually difficult to even type this, but while I was traveling overseas for work, my grandfather passed away. That being said, things weren’t going fantastic, but they certainly weren’t going so poorly that I felt uncomfortable traveling 4,500+ miles away for over 2 weeks. So,

first I’ll give my boss and the company props for encouraging me to get home and offering to do whatever it would take to get me there. I know not everybody has that kind of support. I made it back the night before the funeral, and I am overwhelmingly thankful.

I won’t go into the funeral and the epic hell of losing what amounts to 1/3 of the family you consider your reality. It honestly rattled me much, much deeper than I anticipated. Almost like your soul ripping in half for a second. I’m sure Jesus was legit, but I’ve certainly always known my granddad could walk on water. He’s the one that gave me my blue eyes, my love-based worry over my tribe, and my hardwired nature to be service oriented. I’m proud that we had members from the Oklahoma State Fire Marshall’s Office, OKC Fire Department and the United States Navy at the service. He was a beyond solid and gentle guy and I will absolutely continue to rock that legacy. 

So how do we end up at Naked and Afraid from the death of your grandfather? We had the funeral, the long awkward post-event lunch with people you haven’t seen since your great grandmother died, and then just sitting and pondering things and being sad. Today we woke up and it was time for my Dad and his wife to head home. My grandmother did everything short of pitching them onto the interstate, turned to me and said, “get your shoes on, I have a list.” As a sidenote, I slept on the couch and she had tucked me in when she came in for early coffee. Shortly there after,  I heard a very quiet, “son of a bitch.” She was fighting to get her socks on. This is funny because she does not swear. I got up, we got the socks on and I have laughed about this repeatedly today. 

I’ve never run errands alone with my grandmother before, so this is a bit novel. We went to the bank, post office, grocery store, plant nursery, and finally stopped for lunch. We had conversation that ranged from tears to normal life things you might discuss with your grandmother. One of the highlights of the day was wandering the plant nursery and picking out oodles of baby plants to put in the front garden. We made it home and survived several visits from very well-meaning, but socially challenging neighbors. We did some late-night planting after the peak heat of the sun had passed and finally made it in for a light dinner. I can’t quite remember the last time we have been eating dinner and watching TV, but lately we seem to end up watching Naked and Afraid. This is actually the perfect show for my grandmother and I to watch together on account of my interest in the outdoors and her interest in why in the world people would put themselves in the situation. We have loads of bizarre and wonderful conversations ranging from the efficiency of banana leaves as clothing material to the dangers of hypothermia. 

So for the top ten conversations I have ever had with my grandmother:

Nana: You better go take a shower. I don’t want them both running at the same time. 

Me: Let me give you a hug so you don’t catch me naked and afraid in the hallway. 

.....quietness leading to smirking.....

Nana: I guess in that case you would be naked and I would be afraid! 

—-> Insert uproar and laughter——

We laughed so hard and realized we were so tired.   

All this is to say that a day of semi-normal activities, hard work and quality time gave us some hope that the new normal would be satisfactory. I’m thankful to see what 92 years of solid living looks like and a 71 year marriage. Thankful to be born of strong stock and very thankful to have had a great day with my grandmother. 

3 Cheers for Henry Jackson Criswell 

Papa as an infant (always thought this photo was a little creepy)

Papa on Right

My Dad and his parents.