Mother's Day

On Mother's Day this year, I pay special tribute to my maternal grandmother, Margaret Dale Hathaway Elwell. She passed away in January of this year, so this marks the first Mother's Day without one of my mothers.

The first time Dave met Grandmother Dale he said he knew why I became a reporter. It was genetic. He says we ask questions alike, and we both seem to have a desire to learn about just about anything. I took that as a big compliment.

My Grandmother had an insatiable hunger for knowledge. She took classes throughout her life, and she is one of the few people I know who always kept a dictionary nearby to look up correct meanings and pronunciations on a daily basis. We would be talking on the phone, and she'd stop to look up a word so we could say it correctly. She stayed on top of politics, current events, and world happenings.

Understandably, she was a teacher and librarian by trade. She was one of the first women to graduate from the then-new Florida State University. (FSU started as a seminary in 1843, then changed to a college for women, and became FSU in 1947)

She had a husband, three children, and five grandchildren. She loved us devotedly and was so proud of our accomplishments... no matter how big or small. She loved to see us smile. Every grandkid can remember sliding down the banister at her house--but no one can ever remember getting in trouble for it. When she picked Luke and I up from school, we always got to stop and get a milkshake or a happy meal. She just loved to hear us laughing and having fun... and if we destroyed her house in the process, so be it. (but, something tells me our parents probably did hear about it!)

She was a true-Florida girl raised in the pre-Disney, Marjorie Rawlings kind-of-Florida. She grew up back when Florida meant a beach vacation in a pink motel and seeing a flamingo, alligator, or maybe a Weeki Wachee mermaid. I remember a trips to Wakulla Springs to see Big Joe, but I never heard her mention a visit to Disney. When I would drive in and cross the Florida line, I'd call and she'd say, "it just feels so good to have you back in Florida." And her home and yard in Tallahassee with the wisteria, azaleas, and Spanish moss is what I think of first when I think of the Sunshine State.

But, she was incredibly humble. When her former students and colleagues came to her funeral, I learned so much about the teacher and person she was. She wasn't big on having her picture taken--actually, she hated it and wasn't above cutting herself out of pictures--so I am thankful to be able to share these with you.

I will always remember her smile, her warm voice, her love for chocolate, and her devotion to family. She was a special gal, and I was lucky to be a special person in her life.