this site=my grammy

Before I lost this site, and had to re-build it, I had made a post about my Grandmother. I found it on http://web.archive.org, and am re-posting it, as well as the original comments from some of my family and friends because they’re important to me. It also explains the name of this site.

Flamingos at the Miami Zoo“November 13, 2005
My Grandmother passed away this afternoon. It hasn’t totally sunk in yet. Just doesn’t seem real.

I did web searches for her to see if I could possibly find a picture to post of her, because my pictures of her are at my Mom’s house. I was saddened because I couldn’t find hardly anything on her, even on the geniology sites. Such an awesome woman, and she barely exists on the internet. But this page will show up on search engines, so: Marion L. Brewer Marion L. Hawkins Marion L. Brewer – there, she exists on this page.

Actually, I just came to the realization that this whole site is kind of an ode to her. Because I couldn’t find any pictures of her, I thought I’d post a picture of something that reminds me of her. That would be the flamingo picture you see in this post.
She lived in Florida for most of my life, and when I was younger I’d fly down there to visit her often. The first time I saw a flamingo was with her at the Miami Zoo.
I always loved going down there, obviously because I was visiting her, but I also loved Florida. It was like being on a completely different planet than where I lived.
Palm trees and flamingos are kind of my thing. If you’re looking for a gift for me, anything with a palm tree or a flamingo on it will make me super happy, for instance.

I came up with hotpinkflamingo.net for my personal domain because it’s something that makes me happy, and represents me well. This site’s layout has a tropical Florida-ish theme, and don’t the color scheme and header graphics remind you of Miami Vice lol? When I picked the domain, I wasn’t thinking about my Grandmother. But if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have picked it, and the site wouldn’t look the way it does – know what I mean?
So, back to what I was saying. In a way this whole site is a tribute to her, and I just now realized it. Hot Pink Flamingo is my Grandmother.

Her maiden name was Marion Brewer. Married name Hawkins. She began her life in Maine, and moved to Florida after her kids had grown up. She didn’t like the cold (I don’t either). I won’t tell you her whole life story – in short, she was a very strong, independent woman. And at the same time she was very loving and sweet. She was true to herself- the people she disliked knew it, and the people she loved knew it. To quote No Doubt, she wore her heart on her sleeve. I wanted to be like her when I grew up. She went from being a struggling single mother way back when it wasn’t common to be a single mother, to being very successful because she was so strong and willful.
I always compared her to the mother on the TV show Golden Girls. You know, the little spit-fire lol? That’s how she was. A petite little woman with a quick wit, and a good sense of humor.

She introduced me to coffee, which is another one of my things. I remember going with her to visit her friend when I was like 5, and we’d all sit around the table and eat donuts and drink coffee and chatter. I thought I was so cool and grown-up because I was drinking coffee lol.
One of my first memories of her is going to visit her on Halloween, and her answering the door in a Mickey Mouse mask.
She instilled in me a love of reading. She always had a book she was reading.

I could go on and on about all my memories, and how cool she was. She was so much more than just a Grandmother to me. She was my idol, my inspiration, my friend. We were two peas in a pod. The world won’t be the same without her in it. But she’ll live on in my heart, and in Hot Pink Flamingo.
I love you Grammy.”

“4 Comments»
Wow. I realize that saying things like I’m sorry for your loss don’t really help with something like this, as they’re just words, and words are nothing without feeling behind them.
But I am.

Comment by Josh” November 14, 2005 @ 5:55 pm

Heather – I wish I would’ve read this sooner.

I am truly sorry for your loss, as your grandmother seemed like such an amazing woman.

Please know that I am here for you and please feel free to call me if you want to talk.

xoxo
Lyndsy

Comment by Lyndsy” November 20, 2005 @ 7:34 pm

dear heather- i just read what you wrote about grammie and i am so impressed and happy! she really was a strong, independent woman and she worked very hard- i will find some pictures of her to give to you- i didn’t think about it much until now- i know that i have quite a few that you can have. you , too are a remarkable, wonderful lady and i love you with all my heart- i am glad that grammie was such an inspiration to you- she loved you very much. i’ll call you soon and i will fiend lots of pictures for you to have of her- some that go back to when you were just a baby in her arms!! i love you so very much- take care love always- mom

Comment by mom!!!!” January 1, 2006 @ 9:04 pm

Heather: I hadn’t visited your website in a couple of months, wow changes just keep flowing! Mom’s passing is slowly sinking in. I sometimes still expect the phone to ring on Sunday morning – thankfully, we both have memories to last a lifetime! It meant a great deal to Grammie to hear your voice those last few days. Though she could barely speak, her expression and manner changed at the sound of your voice! No more pain, no more meds  – she is free at last!

I Love You! Mark

Comment by Mark” January 1, 2006 @ 11:48 pm”

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