Life Lessons from Mawmaw | Girl Talk Tuesday

Life Lessons from Mawmaw | Girl Talk Tuesday

I share with you my mawmaw's life lessons - hello gorgeous angela lanter

Today, my Mawmaw would have been 90 years old.  

Many of you may know Mawmaw through my Snapchat videos or maybe her Chicken Soup Recipe.  

Maybe you know her Biscuits & Gravy or maybe even the posts over the summer, when we lost her.  Hello Gorgeous has paid tribute to the woman who helped shaped who I am today, from the very beginning.

There are so many stories I could share and so many memories to reflect on.  But that little scrappy thing, who was barely 5′ tall, did so much more than give us a million good laughs.  

She loved her family.  

And she loved us hard.

In light of a very sad day for my family (Mawmaw’s first birthday in Heaven), I wanted to share a few of the life lessons she taught me in the precious years we had with her here on earth.

 

Life lessons from mawmaw girl talk tuesday angela lanter hello gorgeous

 

  1. Good Food.  There were certain things you could count on always being at Mawmaw’s house: Coke, Little Debbie’s, coffee and something she had whipped up either on the stove or in the fridge.  She could make the best meal of your life in little to no time, with ingredients you’d never even think to put together.  If you know our family, then you know about her famous “Slop.”  Who knows how she came up with it, but it’s just about the best comfort food you’ll ever have.
  2. How to care for others.  Mawmaw worked at the hospital for years, so she called herself “Nurse Good-body.”  She was who you’d call at the first sign of any symptom, and she’d tell you exactly what to do to get better.  If she didn’t know the answer, she’d pull out her medical dictionary and find out.  If you were sick or were recovering from surgery, it was off to Mawmaw’s house you went.  She’d wait on you hand and foot until you were well.  She took better care of you than anyone else on this planet.
  3. Forgiveness.  She could get angrier than anyone I know.  Honestly, she was the one person you didn’t want mad at you.  But she’d always forgive.  She’d decide when she wasn’t mad anymore, and that was it, it was behind her.  But that forgiveness usually didn’t come till after she made you break a switch outside to get whipped with, lol!
  4. Love for Old Hollywood.  I love Old Hollywood so much more than your average millennial.  I grew up watching TCM with her and now have an appreciation for the Golden Era.  There was such an innocence to that period in entertainment.  The movies were so clean, so pure, and some of the most inspirational work to this day.  I watched so many classics with her and learned all about her favorite films and stars.  But, we also loved ourselves some Golden Girls.?
  5. To make my bed everyday.  Mawmaw liked a clean house.  She never wanted anything in her trash cans and always wanted the bathroom sinks to be sparkling clean (i.e. you better dry that sink out after you get done washing your hands!)  She knew how to make a gorgeous bed and always had hers looking immaculate.  Unless she was in her bed, it was always made, always looking like a million bucks.
  6. Good taste.  Mawmaw had the very best taste in everything.  From her gorgeous bedding to her taste in clothes, she knew what she liked and wouldn’t buy less than the best.
  7. …But smart with money.  Yes, she had great taste (Hello!  Her perfume of choice was Chanel NΒ°5…) but she always stayed in her lane.  She was smart with her money, and had a nest egg put away for emergencies.  She always taught me that if I couldn’t afford something, then I didn’t need to buy it.  She taught me to save up for the things I really wanted, instead of buying something much cheaper and wasting my money.  She taught me patience.
  8. Hard work pays off.  She was widowed at a young age and I never even knew my grandpa.  Mawmaw worked her whole life until my step grandpa swept her off her feet and made her quit her job in medical records.  But even then, she went to work taking care of him.  She worked hard and took pride in the things she had.
  9. Take care of your man.  After I got married and decided to be a housewife, she would always ask me a series of questions when I would call her…  Are you taking good care of Matt?  Are you cooking him some good food?  That was her way of reminding me that it was now my job to look after Matt, and I better do a good job at it…  Or she’d chase me down and whip my butt.
  10. When to take a nap.  She was the queen of siestas.  If I would come to her house and looked tired, she’d send me straight to my bedroom with a blanket, telling me to go take a nap.  She understood the value of rest.
  11. Coffee cures everything.  Have a headache?  Drink a cup of coffee.  Need to poop?  Drink coffee.  Had a bad day?   Coffee it is.  Her answer to almost every problem in life was a cop of joe.  I think she was the original Gilmore Girl, lol!
  12. Always keep your gas tank full.  I never understood why having a tank full of gas was so important until I ran out of gas with my girlfriend, Heather, in a really bad part of town.  Needless to say, I never let my tank get below 1/4 full.
  13. A sweet tooth is a real thing.  She had one heck of a sweet tooth.  She passed it down to my mom, who passed it down to me.  I love Coca Cola because of her.  She wanted an ice cream cone daily from Dairy Queen and I would happily go get it for her.  I’d give anything to have a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate with her right now.  PS- She was the queen of fudge.  No one’s fudge beats Mawmaw’s.
  14. How to be a flirt.  The world’s biggest flirt award would easily have gone to her.  She pinched so many booties that I couldn’t even begin to guess a number for you.  She knew how to turn on the charm with anyone.
  15. How to make friends with anyone.  She never met a stranger.  Ever.  She loved anyone and everyone.  I grew up believing that we’re all God’s children and we all deserve to be loved because that’s how she taught me.  And that’s how she lived her life.
  16. How to dance.  I have never met anyone who loved dancing more than her.  She taught me how to jitterbug in high school.  She didn’t need music or a reason to get up and “cut a rug.”  She would make her own music and dance in the hallways of the nursing home.  She spent her years in New Orleans dancing in the streets of the French Quarter.  She loved any and every reason to get and just move.
  17. A love for music.  She loved music just as much as she loved to dance.  She especially loved songs for the 40s and 50s.  I now sing things like, “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Home again, home again, jiggity jog,” and “I’ll Be Seeing You” because of her.  I can’t get in the car and not hear “Buckle up for safety, Buckle Up!” most days.

 

These life lessons are just the tip of the iceberg.  I could sit here and type for hours about all the things she taught our family through the years.  

Mostly, she taught us how to love.  She showed us what it was to love fiercely.  

She would have done anything for her family and was so proud of each and every one of us.

I hope that you’ve been blessed with a grandma like this in your life.  

There is no bond like that of a granddaughter and a grandmother.  There’s just this love and this understanding that goes beyond anything else on this planet.  She was my last grandparent and I’m so thankful for the wonderful years we had with her.

Please leave a comment below and share a special story about you and your grandma.  I’d love the extra reason to smile on this bittersweet day.

Happy 90th Birthday Mawmaw.  I know you’re doing your birthday dance in Heaven.

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39 Comments
  • Awww beautiful story and life lessons your Mawmaw taught you! Happy 90th Bday! My Grandma on Mom’s side taught me how precious life is and not to take for granted. Also think got my love of art from her. She loved painting as a hobby. My other Grandma on Dad’s side, used to take my brothers, cousins and I to dinner once or twice a month to Lubys back when we had one or pizza hut. Miss those family dinners. She always said we needed to eat our meal or no dessert. She wasnt paying for something we wouldnt eat. I agree about the coffee! Coffee for any occasion. I have experienced running out of gas completely and was no fun. Thankfully one of my brothers came to rescue. Since then I always make sure have gas. I hope you and Matt have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Eat lots of Turkey and pie and be careful of crazy black friday shoppers lol.

    P.S. I am curious what other color hunter boots you bought recently? You never said. I think pink or gray.

    • Angela Lanter

      Thanks so much, Erin! Sounds like you had two amazing grandmas in your life!
      I went with the green Hunters and LOVE them! Now to just break them in… πŸ™‚

  • Michelle

    Happy 90th bday to your grandmother. My husband’s grandfather’s 90th birthday is today too. His grandparents were married for 60 years before we lost his grandmother almost 3 years ago. And last January his grandfather was diagnosed with brain cancer that had spread through his body. And God hasn’t cured him but he extended his life and for that we’ve all been so grateful. To see him celebrate(we had a surprise party over the weekend) was one of the things I’ll always cherish. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see your grandmother celebrate. I’m sure she’s praising Jesus as we speak, smiling and dancing down the golden roads.

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, Michelle! Wow, 60 years! What a legacy. πŸ™‚
      I’m so happy to hear that you have this very special time with his grandpa. You will always cherish those memories!
      Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Aisha Muhammed Ali

    What a lovely story and a really pretty picture. I never met My grandparents because my family had to go to an other country as refuges When I was a baby because of the war in Iraq.
    I did work with old people at a home for elderly and I really loved My job !
    Old people are amazing and cute and I Love listening to them when they talk about Their lifestories.

    Happy 90th birthday ! πŸ™‚

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, Aisha!
      I am so grateful for people like you who work with our elderly. It takes a special person to do that every day! πŸ™‚

  • KayLeigh Campbell

    My grandma on my mom’s side passed away going on about 2 years ago. She taught us the beauty of playing and making music at such a young age. One of her greatest wishes in life, that she succeeded in, was that every one of her children would have a piano in their home so that her grandkids wouldn’t grow up without the option of learning to play. She was my first piano teacher and pushed me to get better constantly, even after I stopped taking lessons and was just teaching myself. One thing I’ll be able to take with me forever is that gift she gave us teaching me to play. It’s my solace during hard times – I know I can go sit down at the piano and just lose myself in it and feel a million times better when I’m done. In her final years she asked me to play some new songs I’d learned so I sat down and played for her. My mom got a call the next week saying one of the many baby grands she had was heading my way so when I got a home, I wouldn’t be without one. I miss my grandma too, so my heart is with you on this bittersweet day. Hope you, Matt, and Soka have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

    • Angela Lanter

      What a legacy, and what an awesome gift! Such sweet, sweet memories you have. πŸ™‚

      Happy Thanksgiving, KayLeigh!! ❀️

  • My nana is 87 and cracks me up. She watches wheel of fortune every night and yells at the tv. She is one of the smartest people I know and can recite every president without even thinking twice. She lives on a farm by herself in KY and gets so emotional every time we leave and it hurts. She and my papaw always told me to “don’t say goodbye, it’s see you later”. My papaw passed away a year ago this week and the last thing I told him was “see you later”.

    • Angela Lanter

      Love this, Lacy! My Pawpaw Stacy was from KY!
      My Mawmaw’s wedding song was, “I’ll Be Seeing You” which reminds me so much of what your papaw said. πŸ™‚

  • Love this post! What a great way to celebrate life, love and gratitude πŸ™‚ thanks for sharing!! Xox

  • Love seeing this story in writing!! So much to relate to here as well πŸ™‚ love that you’re in the journey together? Do you still have those first photos he took for your blog? Would love to see one!!

    • Angela Lanter

      If you dive deep enough into my archives, the first post is still up. EEK!

  • Nikko Read

    How well written. Ana amazing women who taught a generation of amazing women! I never had grandmother but if I did I’d like to think she would have been like mawmaw! Hope you an Matt have an amazing holiday make sure you both do not work to hard!!!

  • Tiffany Vogel

    God bless u ! I’m shur she is watching over u..
    My granny will be 90 in Dec. she loves Oreos. We are super close too! She still drives , but just to the bank and the store . I drive hour and half round trip to see her once a week and we have tea and watch The young and the restless . Which I also grew up watching w/ her mom ( my GG Gertie) she tought me to love yourself first .. to enjoy your own company. ( my papa has been gone for 11 years and she has buried 3 of her 4 children over the years and is still a rock ! She presses on and thought me to never feel sorry for yourself, and count your blessings. I can tell her anything… I am not as close to my mom as I am to her…
    She is so brave. I will be gutted when she is gone one day …

    But like her I will have to be strong.?

    Sorry for your loss ..
    You will be seeing her again…

    Have a beautiful ? Thanksgiving

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, Tiffany! My dear friend, Melissa, is on Y&R! πŸ™‚

      So good to hear about this sweet relationship you have. Cherish every moment you have with her!

      Happy Thanksgiving πŸ™‚

  • This made me tear up. So sweet! I am blessed to still have both of my grandma’s with us but both of my grandpa’s passed away last year. Today would have been my Memaw and Papaw’s 59th wedding anniversary. Their marriage is an inspiration to us all!
    My other grandma is always up for a good time! We love to adventure and antique together. She stood outside with me one night for a couple hours and wouldn’t let us leave until we got to meet the stars of The Vampire Diaries because they were filming near her house!

    Emily
    lovepastatoolbelt.con

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, Emily! Love that you have such a great relationship with both of your grandmas. Cherish every moment you have with them! πŸ™‚

      Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Jessica J

    I just loved reading this! It sounds like you had a bond with her that was so special and I am sure she is so proud of you. I don’t have a relationship with my grandmother but I did have a grandfather who passed just over 13 years ago and I think of him every day. Just like your Mawmaw, he taught me so much about life, kindness, love and the importance of laughter.

    When he would watch me before school, he would wake me up in the morning by banging spoons together in my face or sometimes pot lids. I would then get up and get my shoes on and he would have stuck wads of paper towel in the foot of the shoe and then act like he had nooooo idea how it got in there. I am so glad that I enjoyed every moment with him and spent as much time with him as I could. Even though I still feel the grief, I know that one day I will see him again and that brings me so much peace.

    Thanks so much for sharing your story XX

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, Jessica!

      OH MY GOSH! You don’t even understand how much your grandpa sounds like my Pawpaw! He watched me growing up and he always did crazy stuff like that! Such good memories!! He sounds like a hoot, just like my Pawpaw! πŸ™‚

  • Michelle Johnson

    What a wonderful story! Thanks so much for sharing the life lessons. Your grandma sounds like she was one spunky, caring, generous lady! I’m sure she will be watching over you every step of the way!! <3 <3

  • Jennifer

    I love that you learned so many amazing life lessons from your grandma. I only have one grandma left and while I have some good memories with her, I was never as close with her as I would have liked to be. My other grandma died when I was 10 and she was the one who had the love for old Hollywood and even though she died before I was able to share that with her, I feel like I got my love for them through her, so I am thankful for that. My grandma that is still living, I have nice memories of going bowling with her as a kid because she was part of a league for a long time and watching “I Love Lucy” and “Little House on the Prairie” and hearing her talk about her childhood growing up on a farm in North Dakota. While I might not always have been the most kind to her or taken things for granted, I do appreciate her and love her.

    This post just gives me a new perspective and I appreciate you always being honest with your readers and sharing these amazing stories that we can learn from as well.

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, Jennifer! I love hearing about your memories! It’s so special that you still have a grandma with you, cherish every moment you can. πŸ™‚
      Happy Thanksgiving!

  • This was honestly the sweetest post! I loved reading about your mawmaw. As weird as it sounds, I could picture all these details so vidily; it felt as if I was there with you. When I was younger, we would always play monopoly: just me, her, and my brother. I always felt bad about winning, so I would always give her “extra” money. Now, my boyfriend and I play monopoly together when we want a change of pace from our “everyday lives”.
    -Kate
    katekoutures.blogspot.com

  • I recently lost my first grandparent, my Memere. I was so close to her growing up and the loss has been deep. I feel for you and wish you comfort through the holidays, as I know it will be harder through the holidays for me without having my Memere around. I’m thankful to know she is in Heaven and I will see her again one day : )

    • Angela Lanter

      This will be my family’s first Christmas without Mawmaw too. You are definitely right, we will see them again one day! πŸ™‚

  • I was the last grandkid of my line of cousins to be babysat by my grandma and she’s he only grandparent I ever knew. My fondest memories with her was sitting on the couch with her, showing me how to fold laundry. As I grew older, it became our thing and I was her go-to when it came to helping out with the laundry.
    Another funny thing that I barely remember was when I sneakily stole some of her vitamins off of the table when she wasn’t looking thinking they were candies! She got so mad at my daddy because she thought he was the culprit! Finally, the mystery was solved when I revealed to my momma later that day that “I had grandma’s candies for desserts” not even realizing I was in the wrong! Haha!

    • Angela Lanter

      That’s so funny! Don’t you love all the fun memories we have because of our grandmas? πŸ™‚

  • Vivianne

    Oh my goodness what a sweet post! She sounds like such an inspiring woman! My grandmother lives in Mexico and we only see each other for a few days once a year, this made me miss her so much but smile πŸ™‚

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, Vivianne! I’m so happy you still have your sweet grandma in your life! πŸ™‚

  • That was lovely to read and great life skills to always remember. She sure sounds like an inspiring women! Thanks for sharing! My grandma lives in a completely different country than I do, but I always give her a call to see how she is doing. Sometimes I wish that she could be here in Australia with me, so that I could get more tips and advice from her. My grandma has a very close relationship with God and she always quotes phrases from the bible with almost everything she says. haha! She sure knows how to make me feel special.

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, MantΓ©! Grandmas are so great at making you feel special. πŸ™‚

  • Goodness, your Mawmaw sounds fantastic! What a gift she must have been for you and your family. Hope your day was filled with sweet, comforting memories and chocolate because, well, it’s chocolate πŸ™‚

    This may start sad but I promise it ends happy πŸ™‚ I only knew my Grandmother and Great Grandma on my mother’s side but never really had a relationship with them. My Grandmother on my fathers side didn’t approve of he and my mother’s relationship because he was black and she was white. I never met her but when my mother was pregnant with me she said that she hoped I would be stillborn and stopped speaking to my father. When I met my husband he was the first person I’d ever known who had both sets of grandparents living. It was his grandmothers that became my own. They were two of the most amazing, warm, welcoming, loving, grace filled women I’ve ever known and they immediately treated me as if I’d always been their granddaughter. Grandma Lasala and Grandma LaPier, they’ve both passed, most recent within the last year. When we told Grandma LaPier that we were praying about moving from Illinois to Ventura, CA to plant a church (which had some people thinking we were crazy) she immediately set to praying with us and supporting us just like she did in every situation we brought to her even if it was a little crazy πŸ™‚

    My 4 year old only met her once just a few months before she passed and I am SO grateful for those memories. He only knew her for a few days and he still frequently brings her up. The love that she poured on him in that short time has left a sweet mark on his little soul. That’s just who she was. Those two women were more than I could have ever hoped for and certainly more than I ever thought was possible when I was growing up. So thankful for them. Thank you for sharing your memories with us and giving us a moment to stop and remember ours. πŸ™‚

    • Angela Lanter

      Thank you, Dynell! She really was special. πŸ™‚

      What an amazing story! I’m a big believer in in-laws being family just the same as blood, so you’ve gotten to really experience that first hand! Such a blessing!

  • I’m playing catch up on the blog and this one was tough for me. My mom passed away two weeks ago. She was diagnosed with Colon Cancer only a month before we lost her so it felt suffen and tragic. I have two of my own babies. He’s 4 and she’s 2 and my Ma adored them so much. Im just devastated that they won’t know her or be able to write something like this of their own about her some day. You know the hollow ache of grief. The shoulda, coulda, wouldas. I pray that I can pass my life lessons from Mom down to my babies so they still learn from her in a way.
    This was beautifully written and you must be missing your Mawmaw like crazy. Big hugs from back home!

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