Over the weekend my entire family celebrated the life of my Grandmother Keel (Nana). Hours were spent with family eating, reminiscing, laughing and crying. All 5 of Nana's grandchildren were a part of the Service and we were all honored to speak in front of an almost-packed sanctuary. It was absolutely incredible to see and meet so many lives that Nana touched. I will remember the service for as long as memory serves me. My favorite part was when a soloist sang the hymn "I Danced in the Morning" by Nana's request. Isabelle danced in the pew the entire time. I just KNOW Nana was with us at that very moment. I shed more tears during that song than I have since the day she passed. This is why I was so touched:
I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.
I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came to me and the dance went on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced on the sabbath when I cured the lame,
The holy people said it was a shame;
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high;
And they left me there on a cross to die.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he
They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
My portion of the ceremony:
My name is Kelly Keel McCulloch and Marian was my Nana.
My sister, Kim, and I grew up outside the state of Michigan; however, we were able to spend long summers and holidays here in Flint. During these long visits away from our mother, Nana was our nurturing figure and therefore we were able to learn many life lessons from her and we have lots of fun memories of her that I’d like to briefly share…
Things I Learned from Nana:
- The importance of separate bathrooms between husband and wife.
- That you never exit a room or a house from a different door in which you entered. It's bad luck.
-The importance of having a good group of girlfriends and a good hobby.
-I learned manners, etiquette and the value of writing good, old fashioned, hand-written thank you notes. In fact, once I graduated from college, she told me she appreciated all of my thank you notes throughout the years - but I was now old enough to address them to Bob & Marian instead of Nana & Grandfather on the outside of the envelope.
- I learned to always give a compliment when giving someone criticism. For example, Nana would be the first to tell me that my hair or make-up looked “different” and then she would promptly ask me where I got my adorable shift coat.
- The last thing I learned was that I should know how to cook one good meal for my family, even though I don’t particularly care for the kitchen. Nana would often call me and ask what I was cooking that evening for dinner. I reminded her that she was talking to KELLY, not Shelly or any one of the other cousins. She’d laugh and then ask what Mike (my husband) was making that night. She was always impressed by Mike’s meals.
Things I Remember about Nana:
-The smell of marigolds in her backyard and the smell of a delicious meal baking in her house every time I entered her backdoor.
-Nana made the best turketti and homemade pies.
- I remember many Christmases watching her play the bells in this very room, candlelight Christmas Eve Services and singing the “Twelve Days of Christmas” at Dad’s house with her where she forgot her designated “day” each verse we sang.
-I remember my sister and I riding our bikes to Nana & Grandfather’s house every summer afternoon for a lunch of Peanut Butter & Jelly with the crusts cut off.
-And finally, I remember Nana picking me up from summer horse camp: on the drive home she asked me what songs I learned and we were quickly singing camp songs together…and continued to sing the entire ride home.
All-in-all, we always knew where we stood with Nana, we always knew she loved us, and we could always count on having fun when Nana was around.
My hope is that one day I leave the same legacy to grandchildren of my own.
Grandfather, Dad & Delaney
Isabelle
Delaney and I
Kim, Dylan, me, Delaney & Taylor
**As for why I am sharing all these personal details...my blog is my personal diary that I just happen to let friends, family and sometimes strangers read. I want to remember both the mundane and the major events in my life. I love looking back month-by-month and year-by-year to what my family experienced, reflecting, if you will. I hope one day my girls will read this as well. Plus, it's my blog and I'll write if I want to. Sorry this post was so long...I simply never want to forget Nana's Memorial.**
Izzy & Daddy ready to sled
Daddy taught Izzy how to eat the snow
And how to pack a snowball
I just thought the trees looked amazing with all the snow
Walking through a winter wonderland
Ready to sled
The climb back up
Daddy got tired of carrying Iz, so he learned to pull her back up
After a few runs she decided to brave the hill alone...
And she loved every second of it!
Meg (holding DJ) with Oscar, Eric and Jude
Meg playing with Delaney and Jude
