I am filling out my crisp, clean, calendar for 2015. I love starting a new calendar.... writing in birthdays and anniversaries of all the people I love. It also gives me a chance to think about events from the last year.... appointments, parties, meetings... etc....
Even though they have passed, I still write my grandparents birthdays and anniversaries down. In addition to, a few other dates that are marked with significance to me. January is a big month for our family, as we have many birthdays to celebrate! I continue to "celebrate" my Grandma Wilson's birthday in January, by marking it and taking a moment to remember her, on that day.
I'm taking a walk down memory lane, this morning.....
come walk with me.
My three siblings and myself, were the only grand kids on my mom's side. We spent a lot of time with her parents. They had a little country house in Burden, KS. Their house was creaky and cozy. We always went in through the back room. It had wood floors, a wood stove, and a rocking chair with books beside it. This was my grandpas reading spot. It's also where we played, most the time, when we were at their house. There was a big chalkboard on the wall and an old crank telephone. Off that room, was my moms old bedroom. It held a big tin dollhouse, with hinge jointed dolls, (they were a little creepy) little doll furniture, a little table with chairs, and some other toys. The door to that room was always closed. I remember the cold air hitting me in the face, when my grandma went in there. It had become a storage room, so you had to walk in sideways, and make your way between dressers and trunks. (We weren't really allowed in there).
My grandma had a green thumb. There were big bushes of different colored roses on one side of the house. I didn't like the thorns or the many buzzing bees, but I loved the smell. Their fragrance was mixed with the smell of summer that permeated that back room..... grass, dirt, wood, heat....it's hard to describe. Close your eyes and think about how a warm, still, summer day smells.
We slept in the living room on a pullout couch. I can remember the smells of that room, as well.... old furniture and newspapers. The way the blankets and quilts smelled, from being packed away. We sat on a piano bench, pulled up to the table for meals. I don't remember having anything besides sandwiches, carrot sticks and sometimes chips, for lunch. My grandpa always had cereal right before bed. I think it was CornChex or some kind of Chex. It wasn't any kind of cereal that I wanted. It always sounded very crunchy, as did the lettuce on his sandwich at lunch. There was a candy dish of lemon drops... always! I'm not a big lemon drop fan, but that was the only candy there, so I ate a lot of them. They are hard on your mouth, until you get all that grainy sugar sucked off!
My grandpa was usually outside working on something. He had an old tractor by his tool shed and we liked to climb and play on it. It's big metal seat was rusty, but two of us could sit in it. It smelled like dirt and oil. Grandpa would come in for lunch, and wash his hands at the back room sink. He smelled a bit like dirt and oil too! There was a medicine cabinet over that sink that had a mixed aroma of band aids and something medicinal. Grandpa always wore pinstriped overalls with a matching hat. His hair was completely white. He had a gentle voice and laughed softly at things we said or did.
My grandma had a rough voice. She suffered consequences from a bad thyroid surgery. She was also gentle and kind. I don't remember what she did while we were there...but, she was close....somewhere in the background. Sometimes, we went to visit her neighbors, occasionally, we went to Henry's in Dexter, KS to get licorice and watch them make candy. We had a sweet little friend named Angela, who would come to visit us.
My Grandma had a big egg business. I remember going to gather eggs, and to this day,.... I hate chickens. They chase you and try to peck you. NOT a fan! I try NOT to remember the smell of that chicken coop too! My grandparents had an addition off the back room....she called it the egg room. It had a huge walk in "refrigerator" for the eggs. The washer and dryer were back there (and pop!). We weren't really allowed back there either...unless she took us. It's nice that we knew our boundaries!
My grandma was not a high maintenance lady. Although, I've seen many pictures of her dressed up, when she was younger. She had an array of polyester / double knit separates (pants, shirts and jackets), in various hues of blues, browns and blacks. I rarely remember her in anything else, until later in life, when she had some blue jeans. I think polyester must have been easy to care for and keep clean. I remember those outfits heaped on a chair in their bedroom. She made me a brown skirt once.... let's just say I didn't hold the say favor for polyester. I think she was a pretty good seamstress though.
She was a beautiful painter. I wish she would have finished the portraits of each of us that she started. A couple of her paintings hang in my house. Grandma loved to meet new people and find out about their lives. She loved to write and document history, both about her life and the lives of others. She loved to take pictures. She played the accordion. I think she was self taught, in many of her hobbies. She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. She was very social and active.
My grandparents had a trampoline! It was green. I remember my older brother jumping on it. It scared me a little... if more that one person was on there... it was hard to stand up. My brother was a little ornery, so maybe he did that on purpose, so he could be the lone jumper! Before bed, my sister and I took a bath together. My grandma always filled the tub with lots of big, billowy bubbles and bath toys. There was a separate shower in the bathroom, but it was for my grandpa. We loved to hide in there. My grandma let us use her special toothpaste... Pearl Drops. It had a fancy little container!
One of my funniest memories of my grandma, was when I was almost 5 years old. My mom went to the hospital to have our youngest sister. My grandparents came to stay with us. I think the commotion of people arriving and leaving, woke me up. I was on the top bunk in our bedroom and yelled for my mom. My grandma's wrinkled face appeared in the dark, leaning in towards me, over the rail.... her raspy voice, said "Diana, your mom's not here right now". Scared me to death! I think I went right back to sleep, hoping that it was just a bad dream.
We went home with them the next day, and they helped me celebrate my 5th birthday. Grandma made me a special cake with lifesavers on it. I don't remember what gifts I received that year,
besides a baby sister.
They were everything grandparents are suppose to be, in the very definition of the word. I think anybody who touches your life and gives you those happy memories..... the ones that "take you back".... were successful in the role they played in your life.
60 year anniversary celebration
I could write several more pages, but then it wouldn't be a blog. I hope you caught a glimpse of a few of my childhood memories....sprinkled with sweet, familiar aromas, the kind that make your heart ache just a little, even as they make you smile.
Have a great weekend!
