somewhere over the rainbow

lies heaven. wanna know how i know?


i decided to write this blog after driving the fourth most beautiful drive in the US-the Seward Hwy- and seeing rainbows all along the way.


rainbows are kinda my thing.


when i was little, my mom and i went to Johnson City, TN, pretty regularly to visit her aunt and uncle-my Nana Jane and Papa Sam. for those of you who know me, you probably know my middle name is Jane. this came from quite a collection of family members on both my mom and dad's sides of the family.


anyways, they were always my favorites- they were like grandparents to me in more ways than i probably know. i can remember nana jane sitting in her chair telling mom and i stories about our ancestors and where we came from. she knew it all when it came to family history. papa sam and i used to always get into some kind of trouble for bouncing on the beds or climbing up on the roof. i haven't been to their house in TN in quite a few years but i can still close my eyes and see everything crystal clear.


My nana died a few years ago. the last time i saw her we went to a family reunion in Big Stone Gap, where my grandpa's family was from. as we left i can remember turning around to watch them wave goodbye as we drove away. i turned around to find mom crying as well. i remember my naive little self asking her, "why is everyone crying?" she replied something along the lines of,


"well honey, we cry because we don't know when we'll see each other again."


then i cried too.


i remember mom coming home a few months later and pulling her car into the garage. she didn't get out and come right in though. i went out to her car and found her crying. i started crying soon after.


we drove down to Jacksonville, Florida, where Nana and Papa's two children live and where they went during the summers to escape the cold. i got to meet the rest of Nana and Papa's family.


As mom and I left for the funeral home, we drove through a beautiful rainbow. mom told me that it was Nana Jane looking down on us.


Nana Jane seems to look down on me a lot. She's right here in Alaska with us.


See?

love.