Johana Compton-Nana of the week! -

This article was written by Kelly Jo Compton Harbison about her mother-Johana.

My mom, Johanna Compton, aka Nana, became a Nana five years ago, May 20, 2004. My sister, Susan and I found out the exact same day we were pregnant. We were due 1 week apart, along with our cousin’s wife. So there were 3 of us who were pregnant within a week of each other. Needless to say it got pretty interesting at times!

My son, Carter Lee Harbison was born at 31 weeks, 9 weeks premature and the day he was born is a day my family will never forget. The night that I went into labor, Chris (my husband) and I headed out to the hospital but before leaving the house I called Momma to tell her I was going to the hospital. She said, “Why, what for?” I informed her I thought I was having the baby. We stopped and picked her up in our Monte Carlo SS. Mom was in the backseat telling Chris to speed up, while pecking him on the head. He screamed at her and told her he was already going 95 mph! I can remember praying, “Please Lord, just let us get there safe before we kill each other!”

Carter was born within 2 hours of us being at the hospital. I had to have an emergency c-section and after he was born he was transferred to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. He was in the hospital for 4 weeks before he came home and he is now a very healthy 5 year old typical boy.

He was the first grandchild on my side of the family as well as my husbands and he was also the first boy on my side of the family. I have a sister and no brothers, so having a boy was a pretty big deal.

Nine weeks later my beautiful niece, Riley Jo, was born. Carter and Riley Jo have been best friends since day one. And what one doesn’t think of the other one does. Then 3 ½ years later, December 19, 2007 my daughter was born, Maddie Dale. Maddie and Riley didn’t have as grand an entrance into the world as Carter Lee did, but it was just as special!

Nana was there when all three of her grandchildren were born. And she has been there for them ever since. My sister and I have often discussed that we would have been punished severely if we did half the things they did, such as digging holes in the yard to hunt for fishing worms, spraying her with the water hose, tracking mud all through the house and the list goes on and on. PLAYING WITH PLAYDOH! Momma hated Playdoh, but she lets the grandkids play with it whenever they want!!

Nana can make things better when no one else can. She will drop whatever she is doing when one of them shows up unexpectedly at her house. She plays farm with Carter in the living room floor and dolls with Riley. She will spend the day with Maddie in the playhouse, sipping tea, even if the ceiling is only 5 feet tall!

Nana rides the kids on the Kawasaki Mule for hours at a time if that is what they want to do. They wade the creek in freezing water. She baits fishing hooks, makes mud pies, reads books, runs through the water sprinkler, basically whatever they want to do. So in other words when the kids are at Nana’s, anything goes!