I am hurting tonight in my soul, and worrying about my granddaughter. I know I can't do anything that will make her better. Sometimes the only thing that helps is the ability to write. I decided I needed to have some precious memories surround me right now to lift my spirits. So it is time to write about my precious Pennsylvania grandma.
I don't even know where to start. My grandma had a LARGE family - 9 kids in all. 8 girls and 1 boy. Since she lived in PA and we lived in Kansas, we didn't get to see her as often as many of the other cousins. BUT when we did get to see grandma, it was like the World's Fair and Disney all in one.
When my grandparents got older, they became what we call now "snowbirds." During the summer, they lived in PA, then when it got cold, they drove to AZ where they rented a small house. My aunt lived there also. The highlight of those back and forth trips was that we got to see them going to AZ and going back to PA. I remember waiting, holding my breath, until they drove in the driveway.
My grandma could make the best bread I ever ate. Mom said many times (and her bread was fabulous) that she could never get her bread exactly like grandma's. One of the things I thought was different about grandma was that she wore Keds tennis shoes. That was way, way, way before Keds became the hip fashion statement they were in the 90's. I think her feet hurt and the Keds were her way of coping. I remember that she hummed under her breath a lot. I asked her once why she did that, and she told me that when things got bad, she hummed and it made her feel better. Eventually, it just got to be a habit.
A couple of summers, they got to stay the entire summer with us. I thought I had gone to heaven. They rented a little house in our town, once across the street, and another time a couple blocks over. I got to have the same experience as my cousins did of going to my grandma's house without traveling for days She took care of me several times when I was sick and gave me green jello and hot tea. :)
It was a joy to listen to her and my mom yakking in the kitchen - nonstop from the minute they drove in the driveway until they drove out again. Grandma had her hair cut really short, and one of the things she usually did at our house (for whatever reason) was get a permanent. I think my mom gave her some, but I know my Aunt Edna did. Grandma said that Aunt Edna rolled her scalp up with the hair! Then her head would be covered with soft white fluffy curls.
We did get to see her both in PA and in AZ. In the PA trips, I remember her more in her little house than in the big one. It was tiny, but grandma made it home. She was an amazing woman. I have no idea how she managed with so many children - must have been a child in diapers for 20 years or more. No washing machine either for years.
One of the things that touched me deeply was when I had my daughter, April. Grandma had a lapel watch that she had given to her mother (my great grandma) and it had the initials of AMB. When her mom died, grandma got the watch back. Without knowing it, or even planning it, our daughter's initials were AMB. Grandma called me and told me she was going to give me the watch to keep for April when she got older. That watch was treasured by my daughter for years. Sadly, when their house got burglarized a couple years ago, along with $20,000 worth of stuff, the thieves also took that lapel watch. My daughter called me sobbing about the robbery, but when I could finally understand what she was saying, it was losing the watch that was making her sob. Losing that watch from a great great grandma broke her heart.
When the call came that grandma had passed away, it broke my heart. I was too pregnant with our son and the airlines wouldn't let me fly to her funeral. Years later when we had a reunion, I asked some of my aunts to take me to her grave so I could see it for myself. I guess I just needed that finality of seeing her resting place.
Grandma - I miss you still today and it has been 35 years. Rest in peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment