Grandma’s Hands

I was 15, pregnant, scared, and didn’t want to be in my mother’s house with my stepfather another day. Remember in my book the time when he got mad at me about the ironing board, and I ran away? Well, walked because I was very pregnant. Very hurt. Very confused. Very scared.

After my mother found me, I moved in with my grandmother and was there throughout my pregnancy, after the birth of my son. and until I graduated from high school.
 
When I moved to Memphis for my first year of college, my grandmother kept my son for the first year. I came home nearly every weekend and brought him back to Memphis with me whenever I could.

It didn’t even dawn on me that my grandmother was 75 years old keeping my three-year-old for me. I can’t even write about it without crying with gratitude.
She gave me a chance to be a “normal” college student even though I was home every weekend and brought him back to Memphis often. After a year, I took full responsibility for my son full time moving him to Memphis.

Her support changed the trajectory of my life. I used every second that she was helping me to make the most of myself and my life and to lay a foundation for my son and our future.

My grandmother can never understand how much I love and appreciate her for that.

We just celebrated her 93rd birthday, and I’m SO thankful that God has blessed us to have her for so long. But she’s not just here. Not just alive. She’s living! Her mind is sharper than anyone I know. She remembers her great nephew’s wife’s sister’s birthday and everyone in between.

You’ll find her in ALL the pictures because she’ll roll with us! To graduations, to Grizzlies games, on road trips (last year I drove to Detroit, and she was the passenger who didn’t need any stops), and everywhere else. She’ll go, and she’ll laugh and make you laugh.

I love this woman!

Last year at 92, she got her high school diploma. She had to quit school after hurting her foot and to help take care of her younger siblings. Decades of life had taught her many lessons, but she wanted her diploma.

Check out the story on  The Grio that went viral after a local news station covered it! And here’s a video of the event!

We have a big dinner every year for her birthday, but on her 90th we did it bigger! Isn’t she gorgeous! Can’t wait until 95 and 100!

She gets a kick out of people saying she’s pretty because even through her adult life, she says she didn’t feel beautiful. But she is. Inside and out.

A beautiful mother, grandmother, great mother, and great great grandmother.

I had a sleepover with my grandmother and my granddaughter. For a whole weekend, the three of us slept in, ate in, and played in my bed. How cool is that?!

I’ve been told that I look like these younger pictures of her. What do you think? I certainly hope to look, think, feel and act like her if I’m blessed to see 90+ years.

So when I published my first book about “Survival and Success as a Teenage Mother”, her name. GG (Great Grandma),  is throughout it.

Because of her, God, and my determination…I made it.

If there is someone in your life who is helping you in any way, show them your appreciation.

Make them proud and live a life where you can maybe one day support them.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m Summer Owens, and my passion is helping youth and young adults realize success no matter what obstacles they face. As an international resilience and leadership keynote speaker, author, S.O. What! Success Coach, and creator of the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum, I empower people to say, “So what!” to even their greatest challenges.  provide a framework to help people see past their challenges and focus on solutions using the S.O. What! Success System (Overcome Obstacles + Eliminate Excuses + Calculate Choices = S.O. What! Success). Through keynotes, workshops, books, online courses, and workbooks, I use life’s challenges and my own story of resilience as a rape survivor and teen mom success story to help others confidently pursue their dreams.

Looking for an inspiring college motivational speaker? A high school literacy curriculum? A middle school life skills workbook? A great example for teen mothers? A women’s empowerment or single mother’s conference speaker?  I’m your girl and will help any audience say, “S.O. What!”.

www.SummerOwens.com