Be gracious if it kills you.

 "Be pretty if you can,

Be witty if you must,

But be gracious if it kills you." -Elsie De Wolfe

      I have this game I play with myself. I ask myself a question like, "Who is the most...giggly/serious/happy/funny/southern/talented/fill-in-the-blank person you can think of?" 

     Sometimes I have a hard time choosing who's the happiest, or who's the most southern. But there's one question that I can answer without any hesitation.

     "Who's the most gracious person you know?" My grandmother - hands down. Where to begin? You know how grandmothers are soft spoken and sweet and they smell nice and have pouffy hair and are the best cooks you'll EVER come across? And you know how they give the best hugs and the best gifts and are the only people who let you put your legs in their laps even though you're a teenager and much too big, plus they're the only ones who think to ask you how your orthodontic treatment is going and compliment you on your hair even if it doesn't look that great? 

     That's a grandmother alright. But even more than all that, my grandmother is kind. She makes everyone feel good. Even when you're a mess in every way possible, she says something to make you feel better. There is an old, old lady at my grandmother's church. She's little and hunched over and I'm not sure how tuned in she really is. While it would be so easy to skip over this old lady, to walk right by her, to assume that she can't even hear you anyway, my grandmother doesn't do that. She stops to talk to her. She leans in, she listens, and she says something thoughtful and kind. 

     This is such a little example, but it's one out of hundreds of times my Nana has been so sweet. She is gracious to the least of them. She always has something encouraging to say, and if you're the most annoying person alive, she'll be nice to you, too. 

     Something that goes hand in hand with this graciousness is her selflessness. My favorite day of the year is Thanksgiving day. Thanksgiving is the most special day because Nana makes it special. She plans out her grand menu in advance, and puts so much effort and time into preparing the feast. She's still passing out hot rolls and refilling drinks while the rest of us have already been sitting down stuffing our faces for 10 minutes. She's the last one to go through the line, and the first one to get up from the table so that she can start preparing dessert.

   When I think of the most gracious person I know, it's Nana. And when I think of who I want to be like, it's Nana. 

     Selfless, gracious, an encourager.