Lessons from Nana: “Love Is a Verb”

My grandmother raised me from the time I was twelve. By the time I started living with her, I had been abused and I needed a lot of “special” care. I was just one of the many children she raised. She raised my brother and me, my father, and a few of her younger siblings. Throughout the years, she had to teach me some hard lessons (and let me learn a few hard ones on my own). She taught me these things out of love, and to prepare me for the times she would not be there.

 

My grandmother died one year ago. In memory of my “Nana,” and as a special gift to my daughter and to all my CurtsyGirls, I am sharing some of the lessons I learned. I am writing a short series of blogs about these lessons and welcome you to also share your most precious lessons with us.

 

As noted above, the first lesson my grandmother taught me was about the thing I was most in need of at that time: love. I had nothing to offer my grandmother and grandfather when they took me in. Although, they offered me a home, a place of peace, a sense of family, and consistency; the biggest gift I received was love. I gave them absolutely nothing (but a hard time – I was a ‘tween). The lesson I learned from this, a lesson shared in Nanas actions, was that love isn’t a feeling you fall in and out of – it is something you do. Love is a verb. More specifically, love is something you do when it is hard, when you get nothing back, when there is nothing in it for you.

CurtsyGirls Character Challenge: Love someone today. Expect nothing in return. Love when it is not easy…especially when it is not easy.