Tootsie

Today is a very special day in the Davis family.

It would have been my great-grandmother’s birthday.

This doesn’t sound like too much of a big deal, but this was the lady that my middle name is drawn from. My full name is Allison Berry Clements. Her name was Verma Glo Berry. She was possibly the most amazing woman I have ever known.

Tootsie is the one with her arms around me

She passed away when I was in high school. That was a very hard day for me, because it meant she would not see me graduate high school or college. She wouldn’t meet my future husband or be at my wedding. My family wouldn’t take drives to Oakland to see her and spend an afternoon with her.

I remember talking to her about life. I was talking to her about college and wanting to travel, just like she did. I remember her laughing and saying that she wanted me to be happy with life. She had lived a full and happy life. Yes, she traveled, married a pastor, had a child (my grandmother),had 5 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and even 2 great-great grandchildren. She told me that she was happy with her life and when the Lord was ready to call her home, she would answer with a happy heart.

She always reminded me how proud she was of me and how honored she was that my parents chose her name as my middle name. I am honored to have her name and I am never going to give it up. Plus having the initials ABC (Allison Berry Clements) is just a perk.