Overall, it is probably to the reader’s advantage that I am not a very good grandmother. If I were one of those wonderful women who are really wrapped up in their grandkids’ lives, I probably wouldn’t write about anything else here. And nobody wants to hear THAT much about somebody else’s grandkids.
I won’t say I haven’t used this column to brag on my grandkids a few times during the years, but only when they do something really outstanding. Of course, being my grandkids, they are do a lot of outstanding things all the time. I just don’t tell you most of them.
But this week I have to do some bragging.
ShayLea Boles is my great-granddaughter. She was Valedictorian of her eighth grade class, and last week I got to witness her deliver about the best valedictory speech I’ve ever heard. It was a great speech, well written, delivered with class and enthusiasm, and in that jam-packed gym, you could HEAR everything she said. Plus she looked gorgeous. Now that is outstanding in itself, but what made it a lot more outstanding is what she had been going through in the couple of days before.
Although ShayLea’s teeth look fine to me, something hasn’t been working right in the back of her mouth, and this required cutting a big hunk out of her gum, and installing some mean-looking braces. But the Dischinger Orthodontics did a good job at making that possible. I know this because her Mom, Shanna Merrill, showed me pictures. She could have spared me. Just looking at them hurt me. I imagine it hurt ShayLea more. This was just a couple of days before her speech.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. The very day before commencement she and her mom were in a wreck that totaled their car. The very day before. But there she was the next morning, pretty as a picture, delivering that perfect speech.
Amazing. She has had a lot of honors, which I’m not going into. But I did want to tell you she got to travel to Austin a couple of weeks ago she was selected by her superintendent to be a Honorary Page for Rep. John Wray for a day. So I just messaged my son, her granddad and asked him to call me and check my facts on this since he was her driver to Austin. This is the message he sent me back: “ShayLea is in Washington D.C. talking to Congressmen.” I told you I’m a kind of sorry grandma. I had no idea she was in Washington.
One more grandma brag here: ShayLea’s mom, Shanna is a single mom, raising three smart, high energy kids alone on the pittance we pay her at Cedar Lake Nursing Home. And she is doing an absolutely excellent job. And really enjoys those kids.
Being the sorry excuse for a grandma I am, I have waited a whole month nearly to tell you about what’s going on with the Norwood kids. Two of them, Hunter Norwood and Jon Baker, my grandson and my nearly grandson respectively, have graduated from the University of North Texas with Bachelor’s Degrees in Hospitality Management. They were honors students at Cross Roads High School, racking up college hours at the same time, so that they got their degrees in just three years. Jon lived with the Norwoods his last two years in high school, and has become like another son to them. That makes him like another grandson to me. Hunter and Jon both have taken positions at the Intercontinental Hotel in Addison. Hunter is the Morning Restaurant Supervisor and Jon is a Front Desk Supervisor. Of course we are just a little bit proud of them.
Then there is that other Norwood kid… Pepper Norwood, a student at SMU, is presently enjoying five weeks of studying Art and Mythology in Italy. She went over a week early, with her parents, who had a great time, but had to come home when Pepper’s classes started. Tina told me Pepper visited Pompeii today.
I may have to write a little more about Pepper’s Italy adventure later. After that, promise to not write any more grandkid columns for a while. Unless one of them does something absolutely unbelievably remarkable. Then I may have to rethink that promise.