Captivated By This...: My Nene

8/27/09

My Nene

Ella Kate Willingham born January 1, 1913. She is mother to four. Grandmother to eight. Great Grandmother to 12. Cook extraordinaire. Remarkable seamstress. Mover. Shaker. She is extremely proud of the fact that she has shaken more hands at First Baptist Church than anybody else in the history of the world. She has happily greeted there for too many years to count.

When I was a child she was my connection to church. She would pick my cousins and me up in her green car and chauffeur us like a taxi. We would squeeze in, take turns in the front seat, and go to church. I love her for instilling in me that church was so important.

We loved spending the night with her because we knew breakfast would be a feast. She, perhaps, made the best oatmeal with crumbled up bacon there was. I remember her almond crescent cookies that she "hid" under the sink to the left in a tupperware container. Now if you ate at Nene's, you cleaned your plate. Period. She was a hound dog in this area!

She loved to sew all 8 of us grandchildren matching outfits for Christmas. One year she made us all denim pantsuits that were covered with embroidered designs. I have no idea where she found the time. Another Christmas she made these plaid dresses out of the scratchiest material I had ever felt. It was so uncomfortable and all of us wondered why she would use such an awful fabric. It was taffeta. I had zero appreciation for fine fabric then, however.

It is heartbreaking to see her in this position now. She is 96 1/2 years old. She is growing weaker and weaker. Her memory is fading and she remembers less and less. She said to me just yesterday, "I can't believe this is how it is going to end. I can't believe it has come to this." The time my children and I are spending with her now is precious. I, now, can fully appreciate all those things that make her "Nene." And though her hair no longer shows signs of red, she will always be a redhead to me.