The Life of Mawmaw Daisy

September saw the birth of my mawmaw in the late 1930s.

September saw my birth in the late 1990s. By chance, Mawmaw’s birthday and my own have always been exactly two weeks apart. This year was the first she missed. And she wouldn’t have missed it had it been a choice she could have made.

She didn’t get to celebrate her birthday this year, either. And boy, did she celebrate birthdays.

Mawmaw was one of the few individuals in my family who genuinely enjoyed standing in the spotlight a bit. She loved birthday parties, and our family had thrown her some bigger bashes the last few years. She was in her 80s and deserved it.

During the pandemic, she even got to enjoy a drive-thru birthday party. It made her so happy and it was good for her. She was supremely a people person, loving - needing, really - lots of time with others to truly be happy.

She had been used to going all over the town whenever she wanted, even after she gave up driving. One of her favorite hangouts was at a local school where my younger cousins went. She’d go have lunch with them, commandeering a table with the lucky cousin and some of that cousin’s friends. Then she’d chat and have a good time with the teachers and the sweet ladies in the office. COVID (and my cousins graduating from elementary school) stopped that. It stopped our in-person church meetings. It kept Mawmaw at home.

Some of those lunch-sharing kids came to the party. One even gave her a poster full of pictures of them together, showing how Mawmaw had gained another honorary grandbaby.

She was so love-filled and so very loved in return. And she was so grateful to be loved and shown that love. Birthday cards made her cry. Birthday gifts made her cry.

“You didn’t have to do this,” she say, teary, before ever even opening the gift. Then, once she opened the bag or tore through the wrapping paper, she’d get even more teary, exclaiming how much she loved what she had gotten (especially if it was purple or hummingbird-related).

However, as much as she loved having her birthday celebrated, she absolutely adored celebrating the birthdays of others.

When my cousins and I were younger and easier to buy gifts for, she’d pick out sweet toys for us. My second-youngest cousin got so many baby dolls with matching-size accessories from Mawmaw.

Then, as we got older, she’d give us birthday money.

She gave me my birthday money early this year and got to see that she’d gotten me a set of two teacups and saucers that I liked from the tea shop where I work.

She loved them. (And was quite proud of what she’d gotten me.)

Her love of birthdays and celebrating made her something of a radio-show personality. The local radio station where I live has a time slot most morning called the “Anniversary and Birthday Club” where you can call the station and recognize anniversaries and birthdays of loved ones. Mawmaw became one of the most frequent callers, bantering with the radio-show hosts as she announced on-air whose birthday it was that day.

I think it started out as just a family thing. Then, as our church bulletin began publishing upcoming birthdays, she would cover those birthdays, too, so our church family wouldn’t be left out.

Mawmaw loved birthday recognition, whether she was recieving it or giving it.

We’re carrying on her love of birthdays, making a point to celebrate them when we can and all together. I don’t think anyone’s stepped up to her radio position though. And we can’t. There’s only one Mawmaw Daisy for us.