Grandma and Paul hanging out in our apartment in Boston (1992).
My wedding day (5/31/91).
Mary did a great job blogging about Grandma and what she meant to all of us. She was indeed a special lady and she had a huge impact on my growing up years. We even got to live with Grandpa and Grandma for about 10 months when we came back for a time from Korea. The list of memories is endless in regards to Grandma but I thought I would just put a few of the fun memories I have in bullet points and let those of you who knew her well relate to some of them. Some of them will be reminders of the house at 111 Mary Street but they are deeply intertwined with my memories of Grandma so it's hard to separate them. Some of the memories I have won't mean much to some of you but I hope you don't mind. I don't even know where to start and I won't take the time to organize them so I'll just type them as they come to my memory....
- The story of Pamenondus (sp?) during bath time (I have tried in vain to find any version of this story in print!). Also the "three-men-in-a-tub" rhyme told in a sing-song voice over and over again to little ones getting a bath.
- Leaning over the kitchen sink while Grandma rinsed my hair in vinegar to make it shiny?!?!
- That crazy heavy dishwasher that she had to roll around the kitchen...the rugs rolled up waiting to be put back in place.
- And what about all those rugs?? She was determined to keep those carpets nice...I don't blame her with all of us grandchildren traipsing in and out of the house!
- The squeaks and groans of the infamous basement stairs.
- The creaks of the floorboards as you walked through the living room...I finally learned where to step to avoid them.
- That huge, huge fan with the mosquito netting on it, set up on that old black/aluminum chair at the dining room door trying to keep the breeze blowing into the house. Then later in the day Grandma would move it to the bedroom hallway to keep the air flowing.
- The big picture window in the dining room.
- The cabinets on the back porch and the cabinets in the basement with all kinds of interesting gardening things in them. The smell of the dirt/fertilizers/etc. all mixed in together.
- The tennis rackets used to "try" to keep the moths out of the garden.
- The tire swing and pools that Mary already mentioned.
- The clothes line apparatus in the middle of the backyard, not to mention that crazy one with all the metal spokes coming out of it.
- All the fruit lined up on the counter getting ripe.
- The speakers in the kitchen that Grandma tried to have fixed many times...they were touchy.
- The jello with WAY too much fruit in it that Grandma worked on tirelessly every Saturday afternoon. Homemade whipped cream.
- That wonderful deep freeze in the basement. Can anyone say "Pepperidge Farm??!"
- Grandma's place at the table where she could hop up if anyone needed anything...always being the last to finish her meal with her hot cup of decaf or tea in a pretty teacup.
- The corner china cabinet that had a wonderful smell to it.
- Those cane back chairs in the dining room.
- The cupboards in the den that held all sorts of surprises and that I had fun organizing many times over.
- Grandma whistling or humming as she went about her work.
- "Flying" to Giant supermarket with Grandma for some last minute items for supper. I was with her when she got stopped one time! :-)
- Broiled fish done to perfection on "fish days."
- Hard rolls (Pepperidge Farm, of course) warmed up in that side part of the oven and ALWAYS real butter.
- Ring dings have already been mentioned but what about Lido and Milano cookies!!!
- The "blue" room with a fan on, with the hum of traffic going by, just perfect for taking a Sunday afternoon nap.
- The two brown couches that had many configurations over the years. I laid there being taken care of when I had chicken pox back in the second (?) grade.
- Grandma's "ironing area" in the den and the clothes hanging on the door. This is one trait I did not inherit (or refuse to inherit).
- Grandma's "frustration" when she would be helping me with my homework and Dad would come up and say things like, "'f', as in elephant."
- The wonderful breakfast nook table and those comfy yellow chairs.
- All the beautiful flowers, bushes, garden items around the house. Those funny looking things Grandma put in the flower beds to keep the deer and dogs away.
- Monday lunch...cold roast beef on delicious bread (Pepperidge Farm, of course), cheese, and fresh lettuce from Grandma's garden, washed meticulously before it would go on my sandwich.
- Yellow beans in milk, rutabaga, Welch rarebit...yum!
- Carob chip cookies...OK, not so yum, sorry Grandma!
- Vitamins, cold prune juice in little glass bottles...tolerable.
- Popcorn, apples, grape juice (with a little orange in it) before church on Sunday night.
- Mentos in Grandma's purse in church!
- Grandma's ALWAYS neat appearance...she was a classy lady!
- The metal file she used to do her nails and always pushing her cuticles back...she always wished she had my Dad's half moons under her nails.
- Picking up neighborhood kids in her car or others that needed a ride on the way to church.
- Hearing her tell stories during junior church.
- Seeing Grandma pore over missionary papers and books about missionaries. She was definitely a missionary right in Binghamton, NY!
- Don't even get me started on the memories from the campground and Grandma's room!
- All the tablecloths she took great care of to set a pretty table.
- The vacuum cleaner at the entrance to the kitchen where she was "just finishing up" when we would come to visit. :-)
- The unconditional love that I felt in Grandma's hugs...I never doubted it for a minute!
- I also love her for being so wonderful to Paul and for loving Hallie, Zack, Brock, and Carlie so much. She always made them feel special.
And the list could go on. I also want to echo a lot of what Mary said about Grandma's character and her servant heart in helping others. Grandma meant so very much to me and I will miss her dearly, however, knowing she is happiest where she is right now is very comforting! At least the Lord will get two vegetables with every meal now!!
