Elda Bonnevie, my grandmother

This is my grandmother, "Nana". It is strange to see one's grandmother as a younger woman.

Elda moved to the U.S. after World War II. She told us a few stories of her younger days, working as a maid and nanny, but I knew her as a doting grandmother with a strong French-Canadian accent and lots of energy for baking, cooking, and paying attention to me and my brothers. Since she lived in the same house, my two brothers and I spent a great deal of time with her.

Nana often interspersed what sounded like 'eh dee' into her conversation, and I only later realized this was French for 'he says' ('il dit').