Maxine

I commented on Mike Cope's blog today about a philosophy my late grandmother, Maxine Riley, had in life: "If only one of us can be happy, it may as well be me."

Definitely not your typical grandmother-ly advice. But Maxine Riley was not your typical grandmother.

Later today, my sister-in-law, who I don't believe ever met my grandmother, emailed me saying that she and my brother were having a conversation that included Maxine and Ve wanted to know my perception of my grandmother as compared with my brother's.

Maxine seems to be on everyone's mind today!

And, yes, that is precisely what I called her -- and, yes, she knew that and, no, it didn't seem to bother her. It came about as a joke about my poor grandfather, Max (yes, those were both of their real names -- Max and Maxine). Max lived and breathed to take care of my grandmother and make her life more comfortable. And I believe there were moments that she appreciated it. But frequently she would say, "Oh, Maaaax. . ." a phrase that typing cannot do justice to her southern, gravelly drawl, that included a hint of a whine. So eventually my Poppa became Max to me. So, naturally, my Nonna became Maxine.

In reading over this, I guess Maxine brings to mind the rough, old woman on the Hallmark cards. Those actually aren't too far off of my grandmother's philosophy in life, but Maxine would not have been caught dead in sweatpants or a t-shirt.

Later I will post what was beautifully spoken at her funeral. Don Glover, who preached at the church where I grew up for 30+ years, captured the things we all loved about Maxine.

A few of the things that I suppose I have inherited from Maxine:

• Speak what is on your mind! Life is too short for dancing around it. My grandparents were definitely "the country club crowd" and I think Maxine's candidness was shocking and amusing to most of their friends there.
• Life is also entirely too short to be taken seriously. While Maxine (with her candid words) hurt my feelings on a few occasions, I mainly remember her giggle. She found humor in almost every situation. Me too, Maxine.