One of my friends recently asked me a question that caught my
attention. It was, what is your favorite childhood memory? It took me some time
before I came up with an answer, which was spending time with my grandparents.
Her reply was, “I can feel your love for them.”
My maternal grandparents, better known as Nana and Pappy,
were the people who taught me the basic values that I still follow today. I have
a great deal of respect for both of them. My younger brother and I spent many
summers under their roof.
I was taught the Lord’s Prayer by my grandmother. She also made
sure I had piano and dance lessons and generally made me feel special. I loved
helping her in the kitchen. She may have been the one who instilled my current
enjoyment of trying new recipes. I especially remember her rhubarb pies and
applesauce. Even today when I am peeling hard boiled eggs I can hear her
saying, “Don’t crack them too much or you won’t be able to peel the shell off.”
I have a vivid memory of sitting with her and snapping green beans from their
garden.
One of my jobs while staying with them was dusting her Hummel
collection. That is where I learned “a place for everything and everything in
its place”. It is something I still follow today. Clutter drives me crazy.
There were always flowers in their yard, especially roses,
which today are my favorite. My grandfather brought my grandmother a cut rose
every morning that they were blooming. It sat in a crystal vase in the center
of the dining room table. I think that led me to the belief that a single rose
says so much more than an entire bouquet.
Another very strong memory also involved my grandfather and
flowers. It occurred when I was a teenager. We lived in opposite ends of town.
One day he picked me up in his vehicle because we were going to attend an event
together later that night. On the way to his house he stopped his truck and got
out without saying a word. I was not familiar with the area we were in. A few
minutes later he came back and presented me with a box that contained a
corsage. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. It was just the kind of
man he was.
My grandmother always had a lot of friends and she enjoyed
inviting them to her home to play bingo. I got to play too, but there
was one rule; I wasn’t allowed to win a prize. At the time, I didn’t think that
was very fair, but as an adult I see that life always has rules. If you don’t
follow them you can find yourself in a whole lot of trouble.
One of my fondest memories is sitting next to my grandmother,
unwinding the yarn as she created projects to give away. I believe the activity
woke up my creative genes. As an adult, I taught myself how to crochet and
today enjoy making baby blankets and little beanies to donate to our local
hospital maternity ward. I often think how proud my grandmother would be of my
gesture.
I don’t recall my grandmother being critical of anything I
did. Well, that’s not entirely true. She had a problem with my penmanship.
Although I have tried over the years to improve, it has been a wasted effort.
That is why I am grateful for the invention of the computer.
Another memory that has lasted a lifetime is, one day I was
sitting in the back of my grandparents’ car complaining about something someone
did or said to me. I blurted out, “I hate her!” My grandmother turned around
and sternly said, “You don’t hate anyone!” I don’t think I ever used those
words again.
A very important grandparent memory is that of my first
marriage. My parents did not approve of my choice of partners and chose not to
have any part of my wedding. Nana and Pappy came to the rescue. My grandmother
found a dress and had it altered to fit me. My grandfather walked me down the
aisle and they paid for the modest ceremony. They may not have approved of my
choice of a husband either, but they did not say a word about that fact.
My first child was born on Christmas day 1960. My
grandparents gave me a choice of having a nurse or diaper service for a month.
I chose the latter because I didn’t have a washing machine. When my son was
about a month old he had a very bad chest cold. My grandmother stopped by with
several pairs of booties she had knitted. She offered with confidence, “When a
baby’s feet are cold it affects their whole body.” She never for a moment
suggested that his health problem was my fault.
Neither of my grandparents are alive now, but the values they
taught me growing up have lasted all my life. I believe they are the reason I
have had such a positive relationship with my young grandson. I have always
tried to look for and encourage any signs I have noticed for his special
talents. I sincerely hope I have been to him the kind of grandparent my
grandparents were to me. Only once in his seventeen years on this planet did I raise
my voice to him. That was simply to remind him how important it is to always do
what he promises to do. I believe my grandparents would have done the same
thing.
I inherited an antique rocking chair that my grandfather gave
me when I was a young mother and my grandmother’s collection of Hummel figurines
that I dusted as a child. They keep my memories alive. I wouldn’t sell them for
any amount of money.
So it seems my answer to my friend’s question was correct. My
favorite childhood memory is spending time with my grandparents. I wouldn’t be
a bit surprised if they were still in my life, acting as my spirit guides.
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