It is a custom in Greece to name the first female child for the paternal grandmother and a middle name given for the maternal grandmother.  This resulted in a rather long name for this little girl (Theodora Frances), so she was given the nickname of  Teddy.  If you wanted to be particular, you would realize this is the masculine spelling, but her parents didn't know any better.  This actually worked out quite well for her since she was petite and later felt her "real" name was way too long for her.  In fact, she dreaded being addressed as Theodora because it usually meant she was in trouble.
 

The photograph on the left is of her maternal grandparents.  On the right are her mother (far right) to whom she bears a strong resemblance, her aunt and uncles.  The smallest of the uncles pictured above would one day become her mentor and her safe harbor.  He would be someone she could turn to when she was frightened or confused and she developed a very deep love and respect for him.

She had very few years with her Yiyiá (grandmother), but she remembers her so well.  When her Yiyiá was taken ill with cancer and began to decline, Teddy's parents brought her into their home to spend her last days.  At times, being in the same room with Yiyiá was a bit scary because she was looking and sounding unfamiliar.  Yiyiá seemed to understand and spent precious energy giving reassurance that there was nothing to fear.  She was alone in the room when Yiyiá took her last breath, and even though this was very frightening to this small child, today she believes that this was meant to be because later in her life this memory would resurface and provide her with the strength and courage she needed to tend to others who were preparing to leave this planet.

She remembers her Pappous (grandfather) as a portly man, who seemed to enjoy his homemade wine quite a lot.  He loved to play little jokes on all of his grandchildren, but always with kindness.  One of her favorite memories is  sitting on her Pappous' lap and waiting so patiently for him to bring out of his pocket a gold watch with a lid on it.  He would hold it up just under her nose, and by pressing a magic button the lid would pop up, tapping against her nose and this never failed to send her into gales of laughter and was always the highlight of their visits. 
 
 

These beautiful elders are her paternal grandparents.  Sadly, she never had an opportunity to know them because they lived in Greece and passed away when she was still young.

There are times when she feels a very strong pull towards her heritage, especially when she hears Greek music or she's preparing a Greek dish.  Maybe, some day, she will finally have the opportunity to visit Greece and the villages of her ancestry.