My grandmother was a beautiful woman. She was, in my lifetime, always old, but in that old-fashioned way that Grandma’s don’t do anymore. She actually had silver hair, little gold-wire glasses (real gold, she had them forever – I have them now) and never wore anything but her corset, stockings, black oxfords and a dress with obligatory tiny flowers sprigged over it. Gram simply would never go out without a dressy little hat, let alone even consider trousers. When I was little I spent much of my time with her. She taught me to cook and to use a needle and threads like an artist uses her brush. I loved her unreservedly, and she me. She died at ninety-seven. Grandma told me one day, when I asked her why she always had her little well-worn prayer book in her pocket, “Sweetie, life is hard. We can complain and moan about what the Good Lord hands us. I decided a long time ago to be calm. My book helps me feel close to God, but even better, when I sink into it and turn off my ear, I can really be all by myself. It does for my mind what sleeping does for my body. Kind of heals and clears out the mess. Then I just go about my business and not bother about all the garbage.”
I never heard grandma raise her voice to anyone. She never needed a pill or shrink or cocktail…”Well, maybe just a little drop of blackberry brandy, Sweetie.”
Memories of her – her violet scent, her soft voice, her slow-but-purposeful step, colored my life in shades of love, safety and serenity. Her way of being a grandma will tint the life I weave with my own grandbabies.
Take a look at my article Grandparents Make Memories about gifting our grandchildren in today’s hectic world.
Here are some really good books to explore in a similar vein:
- Grandloving: Making Memories with Your Grandchildren by Sue Johnson (Paperback – Feb 2003)
- 41 Uses for a Grandma by H. Zeifert (hard bound - 2005)
- 40 Uses for a Grandpa by Amanda Haley, H. Zeifert and Harriet Zeifert (Hard cover April 2001)
And Webs:
National Grandparents’ Day Web site
Show your grandchildren what was what back in the day
DigitalGrandparent - techno boomers
