book bonanza – nana upstairs, nana downstairs

Dec 7, 2010

This is one of our all-time favorite books…as in top ten (ish) favorite books. Everyone who knows me well knows I have lots of favorite things in my life, but really, I believe this book is one of the best.

And the best part is…

drumroll : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Fisher, Annesley, and I found one today at DI for .50 cents. A hardcover copy that looks as if it has never been opened! How anyone could bear to part with this book and send it to DI I will never understand, but someone did, and we scooped it up!

This lovely book is about a little boy who has a grandma and a great-grandma, both of whom he loves very much and he visits them every Sunday. His great-grandma lives upstairs and his other grandma runs the household, mostly from the downstairs, so he names them Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs.

Just the naming of his grandmothers brings on my tears. I remember when Blythe was little and she had several grandmas that she adored and wanted to call them different names other than just “Grandma” so she created a new name for her great-grandma.

She named her “Grandma GG” for the two G’s in great-grandma. Ever since that is what we have called my grandmother and other people adopted the name as well.

The book tells the story of Tomie’s Sundays with his two grandmothers and cozy family traditions they share. Eventually his great-grandmother dies and then years later his grandmother dies.

When we read it tonight, I asked if anyone had a grandma and a great-grandma that they loved like Tomie did. Fisher piped right up and said “I do! I have my Grandma GG!”

Even though she has been gone for two years, she is still a part of our daily conversations. We want to keep her alive in our children’s hearts because she was a huge part of their lives.

Reading it tonight with Eve, whose Grandpa died this week, was especially touching. Everyone in the room was acutely aware of the pain of having someone who is loved dearly pass from this life. We all cried a little bit and then we were able to remember the love we have for these grandmas and grandpas and how blessed we are to have been part of their lives.

Just like Tomie, we are learning to say goodbye for a time.