I will always love my middle name. It is a name I share with my mom, and it comes from my great-grandma: Jean Redfern.
Now, I love my middle name even more. I get to carry you with me always.
I did not always appreciate the time I spent with you, but I look back on it now with fondness. I was so scared of your basement; I believed it to be haunted, but I would brave the stairs down there anyway to try and seem courageous. The little candies in your bowl were so gross, but I tried them each time we visited just to see if they had changed. I loved the pool in your neighborhood; it was always warm, and we were always the only kids, so we got the pool to ourselves, and we were allowed to play mermaids forever.
When you moved, our visits were shorter, and you did not remember me, but I will always remember you. You always had a funny story ready to share and a warm hug to give. I have a hard time remembering a lot from when I was younger, but I do remember the numerous times I was visiting you. It’s hard to picture a summer without at least one visit to you, without at least one hug, or without at least one story shared in your deep, kind voice.
I am so thankful for the warm presence you brought to life and the caring you have instilled like a pillar into my being. Even when you couldn’t remember who I was, you still offered me a wary smile. I do not think you had it in you to ever be mean. I love how easy it is to remember you because I get my favorite name from you, and though everyone else just called you Great-Grandma, I loved calling you Great-Grandma Redfern.
Redfern is the name I get all of my favorite nicknames from. Redfern is a name my mom and I have in common. Redfern is my tie to you. And Redfern will be a name I hope carries on, not just in name but in your character. I hope to be as kind and loving as you; even when I cannot recall your voice, I hope I remember who you were. Redfern is a name I hope a future daughter will carry with the same pride I carry it with now and the same pride I know my mom carries it with as well. I hope your character lives on through everyone who carries your Redfern name.
Love you and remember you always, Great-Grandma Redfern.
