The Definition of Phenomenal

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, this summer I will be serving as one of Lean Cuisine's Phenomenal Ambassadors sharing stories of great food and phenomenal women. In my first post for Lean Cuisine's Feed Your Phenomenal™ campaign, the 696 times I've weighed myself, I talked about their incredible message that encourages women to weigh themselves on accomplishments rather than some number on a scale.  

Today I'm going to Feed Your Phenomenal^TM by recognizing a woman in my life whose effort, compassion, undying love and strength sometimes goes unnoticed or unthanked. Today I'm sharing the story of a woman I think is phenomenal: my grandmother, Nan. 

Nan is one of those women who makes something look and seem so effortless, natural even, that you don't stop and think how mind boggling difficult it actually was. In 1955, Nan was pregnant with her 4th child when her husband decided not to come home. He was a welder who traveled for projects, and I guess one trip he decided he didn't want to deal with it anymore and never showed. Nan, who I will again mention was pregnant with her 4th child at the time, was forced to work and somehow raise 4 children on her own with absolutely no help. 

Nan was forced to move her family from their cute little brick house in a good neighborhood, to the actual projects. My mom has told me many times that when she was a kid she never knew they were poor. They lived in the projects where the charities referred to my mom and her siblings as underprivileged kids, and yet they had no clue that they were poor. Nan did that, on her own. How a woman manages to raise 4 children, all totally unaware they were "underprivileged",  all on her own in 1955 absolutely blows my mind. Not to mention she had only recently moved to the US from Canada, and didn't have a single family member to help. 
Can you imagine the stress you'd feel every single day as a mother with that kind of responsibility? It was 1955, it wasn't like today where job opportunities for women pay well and are abundant. Heck, I stressed about paying for General's vet bills and I have a great job. How silly does that seem when you think about what my Grandmother did day in and day out for her family.  Thinking about Nan and the sacrifices she must have made every single day really gives a new perspective on what's important in life. 
Nan will turn 90 years old in October and just returned from a trip she took with my Mom and my Uncle Lynn to visit her birthplace, Newfoundland, Canada. Nan is a diehard, and I mean never misses a single pitch, Atlanta Braves fan. Here she is on her iPhone streaming the Braves game in the car....

She plays Fantasy Football with us (I lost to her both times I faced her this season), loves TJ Maxx, and has her own apartment just down the street from my Mom. Funny enough, she even loves Lean Cuisine's meals as much as I do -- if that's possible?!?
If Nan doesn't define phenomenal, I don't know who does. She is my hero. 

 

Visit the Phenomenal Effect website and help spread the Phenomenal Effect by recognizing the phenomenal women in your life and encouraging them to do the same. You could win prizes for yourself and everyone that you recognize.

Sweepstakes time! Leave a comment and let us know who are some of the phenomenal women in your life. Each comment will automatically be entered to win a $100 Visa Gift card, thanks to SheKnows!  Also, be sure to visit Lean Cuisine on Facebook and Twitter! 

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