Grand Thoughts: Child's poem, 'One Wish,' remembers her beloved 'Nanny'

Evelyn Lancaster, center, with her great-granddaughters Evie, left, and Tilleigh.
Evelyn Lancaster, center, with her great-granddaughters Evie, left, and Tilleigh.
photo Evie Nazor-Comer stands beside a Southern Lit Alliance Young Southern Student Writers banner during a recent awards ceremony at the Tivoli Theatre. Evie won an award for a poem she wrote about her great-grandmother.

Five years ago, I wrote in this column about my mother's illness and ultimate death. I chronicled the pain and loss in heartfelt words that described our family's devastation in losing her. I also detailed the effect it had on my granddaughters, Tilleigh and Evie, who were 7 and 4 at the time. The girls were very close to my mother, Evelyn Lancaster.

Mother was a strong, outspoken, sometimes fierce, most loving and dedicated matriarch of the family. She loved us with every part of her being.

My dad, Red Lancaster, died in 2008. Tilleigh was 18 months old and had moved from Montana to Chattanooga with her parents (her mommy is my daughter Kacee) just six months earlier. Tilleigh's presence brought joy to my very ill father. But her presence revitalized my mom's life. Our family says Tilleigh is what kept my mom going after my father's death.

Then, three years later, Tilleigh's sister, Evie, was born. Kacee named Evie "Evelyn" after my mom and "Mae" after my mom's mom. Little did we know at the time that her name couldn't have been more appropriate. Evie's personality is a carbon copy of my mother's.

Mother had a big influence on Evie because she took care of her while Kacee and I were at work. Turns out, those days together had a big influence on the girl.

Nearly every day, almost five years later, Evie still talks about her "Nanny." Last week, I overheard her telling her little brother, William, 6, that Nanny taught her how to "color in the lines," and he needed to learn how to do it, too.

We were at Mother's side when she died. We left the option open to the girls, and they both wanted to be with her. Tilleigh held her hand while Evie and I sat on the bed next to her. When the doctor confirmed that her death was moments away, we showered her with words of love and thanks for being such a wonderful mother and grandmother. The girls and I sang to her. And when she was pronounced deceased, we, naturally, cried. Then, a last breath of air escaped Mother's lungs, causing Mother to move. Evie jerked toward her, pointed at her and shouted, "She's faking it. She's faking it. Nanny is faking it."

Well, that was unexpected.

The other 16 family members in the room, all of whom had been crying, all of a sudden started laughing, including me. My mother had just died, and a roomful of people were laughing.

Now, if you knew my mom, you'd know she'd be laughing, too. In fact, I sure hope what people say about how the spirit leaves the body and hovers over the room is true, because if it is, I can promise you that my mother left this world laughing.

What a gift, thanks to a 4-year-old child.

As Evie grows, so does her likeness to Mother. So when we were told Evie had won a 2019 Young Southern Student Writers Award for a poem she had written about Mother, we were so proud. But when we read the poem, we couldn't speak for the tears.

The awards ceremony took place on April 30 at the Tivoli Theatre. About 400 students from public, private and home-schooled grades, won awards. At the ceremony, we were told thousands of students entered.

Evie is a third-grader at Nolan Elementary and is in Becky Leary's class. Mrs. Leary is the kind of teacher parents hope their child gets. She seriously cares about her students, and she makes learning fun. Her classroom is bright and welcoming with something in every nook and cranny that encourages kids to learn. She also is a sponsor of the writing club at the school, Knight Writers, of which Evie is a member.

Evie wrote the poem about Mother in Mrs. Leary's class.

This poem will forever be part of my family's legacy, and it was written from the heart of a child about an 85-year-old great-grandmother the child wishes she could see just one more time:

One Wish

One wish, one wish, one wish, only.

I have one thing I want to see.

Although my Nanny is gone to heaven,

She continues to live in my heart.

It may seem impossible to you, but not to me.

One quick glimpse is all I need.

So please, please, please,

Try, try, your very best,

That is a lot to ask,

But you said,

"One wish, only."

- By Evie Nazor-Comer

Email Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com.

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