Retirement, Simple Living, Family, and Me
I spent last Saturday attending the wedding of my brother's youngest daughter. The bride and groom are blending two families, with all girls , five altogether. Everything about the day was perfect!
It was also a chance to visit with my siblings and nieces and nephews. My sister's daughter is expecting a baby boy in January. Much excitement surrounds this occasion as it will be my sister's first grandchild. There was discussion on selecting the baby's name but let's face it, that is ultimately up to the parents. The other name selection up for discussion was what the grandparents want to be called. This actually generated more input and suggestions from others than the name for the baby!
It seems like in today's times, monikers such as Grandmother, Granddad, Grandfather, Granny, and Grandpa have given way to more "hip" names like G-pa, Gigi, Nana, Bumpy,and Poppy. All this family together time and talk about weddings and grand babies brought up memories of my grandparents. I would like to share some of those memories with you in this post.
My mother's parents were Grandmother and Granddad. My first memory of them was when I was three years old. My brother, who was six at the time, became seriously ill and had to be taken to the hospital. They came to take care of me. I remember Grandmother holding me in her lap and soothing me by telling me that everything would be okay.
We spent a lot of time with Grandmother and Granddad. Either at our house or at their house which was about 30 minutes away in a small town. Granddad worked at the court house and Grandmother stayed at home and tended to the household. She was a tiny woman, probably just about five feet tall, but she could wring a chicken's neck like a pro. She was a wonderful cook and always kept us well fed during our visits and on holidays spent with our cousins. She wasn't what you would call "physically active" with us but she had the coziest lap to sit on and the best hugs to give whenever you needed it.
When Granddad wasn't at work, he could be found in his garden. He had a sizable vegetable garden and was always glad for some "helpers" to join him picking tomatoes or squash or beans. He called all of us kids, "bub". He also called all his dogs,"bub". At first I just thought all the dogs actually had the same name and maybe he just couldn't remember our names. But when he called "hey, bub" we all ( dogs and children) responded so I guess it was a pretty good system. I can appreciate the simplicity of that now.
Granddad was outgoing, had the best smile, and was quick to laugh with us. He was also one of the slowest drivers in North America. My sister, cousin, and I still remember to this day (some 50 odd years later) the time he actually passed another car on a two lane road! He also had this endearing quality of referring to other drivers, especially teenagers, as "birds." As in "those birds don't know how to drive" or "those birds are going too fast." If on the rare occasion he asked, "what are you birds doing?' we knew trouble was brewing for us.
My dad's parents were called Granny and Grandpa. They were polar opposites. Granny was one of those "larger than life" people and Grandpa could blend into the furniture so well that you sometimes didn't notice he was in the room. They lived in the same town, so frequent visits occurred.
Granny was by profession a hairdresser. She worked out of the house when my dad and his siblings were growing up. Grandpa worked at a local printing company and probably didn't miss a day of work. Granny also "did" the hair of the grand kids. Rumor has it that she actually trimmed my cousins hair while they slept. I never witnessed the actual event, but I have to admit that sometimes their hair was a little sketchy. Before you think I am making fun of anyone, there are several photos of me as a pre-teen and teenager with totally questionable hairstyles. When others view the pictures I have only one word of explanation --- Granny! I have not included those in this post for obvious reasons.
While Granny was dressing up as other people to fool us, planning week-end outings, taking us to lunch in the Boston Store Tea Room, stuffing us with goodies, beating the pants off of us in checkers, and placing prank phone calls to us, Grandpa was just as busy trying to avoid such nonsense.
Since Granny didn't drive, Grandpa would drive us on our week-end outings. While Granddad was one of the slowest drivers in North America, Grandpa was one of the fastest. I don't remember what kind of car they had, but I do know that me, my brother, my sister and at least 3 or 4 cousins fit into the back seat. We were quite comfortable as we were not encumbered by seat belts in those days. (I hear the gasps).
I can still picture the scene as we sped along the highway to our destination. Granny was constantly turned around talking and laughing with us. The only visible part of Grandpa was the back of his head,a hat, and two ears. I bet he was smiling though.
I guess it doesn't really matter what children call their grandparents. What really matters is that children are lucky enough to have grandparents present in their lives and that loving relationships are formed.
That's it for now.
Check back later!
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| Katie and Adam |
It was also a chance to visit with my siblings and nieces and nephews. My sister's daughter is expecting a baby boy in January. Much excitement surrounds this occasion as it will be my sister's first grandchild. There was discussion on selecting the baby's name but let's face it, that is ultimately up to the parents. The other name selection up for discussion was what the grandparents want to be called. This actually generated more input and suggestions from others than the name for the baby!
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| The Fam |
My mother's parents were Grandmother and Granddad. My first memory of them was when I was three years old. My brother, who was six at the time, became seriously ill and had to be taken to the hospital. They came to take care of me. I remember Grandmother holding me in her lap and soothing me by telling me that everything would be okay.
We spent a lot of time with Grandmother and Granddad. Either at our house or at their house which was about 30 minutes away in a small town. Granddad worked at the court house and Grandmother stayed at home and tended to the household. She was a tiny woman, probably just about five feet tall, but she could wring a chicken's neck like a pro. She was a wonderful cook and always kept us well fed during our visits and on holidays spent with our cousins. She wasn't what you would call "physically active" with us but she had the coziest lap to sit on and the best hugs to give whenever you needed it.
When Granddad wasn't at work, he could be found in his garden. He had a sizable vegetable garden and was always glad for some "helpers" to join him picking tomatoes or squash or beans. He called all of us kids, "bub". He also called all his dogs,"bub". At first I just thought all the dogs actually had the same name and maybe he just couldn't remember our names. But when he called "hey, bub" we all ( dogs and children) responded so I guess it was a pretty good system. I can appreciate the simplicity of that now.
Granddad was outgoing, had the best smile, and was quick to laugh with us. He was also one of the slowest drivers in North America. My sister, cousin, and I still remember to this day (some 50 odd years later) the time he actually passed another car on a two lane road! He also had this endearing quality of referring to other drivers, especially teenagers, as "birds." As in "those birds don't know how to drive" or "those birds are going too fast." If on the rare occasion he asked, "what are you birds doing?' we knew trouble was brewing for us.
My dad's parents were called Granny and Grandpa. They were polar opposites. Granny was one of those "larger than life" people and Grandpa could blend into the furniture so well that you sometimes didn't notice he was in the room. They lived in the same town, so frequent visits occurred.
Granny was by profession a hairdresser. She worked out of the house when my dad and his siblings were growing up. Grandpa worked at a local printing company and probably didn't miss a day of work. Granny also "did" the hair of the grand kids. Rumor has it that she actually trimmed my cousins hair while they slept. I never witnessed the actual event, but I have to admit that sometimes their hair was a little sketchy. Before you think I am making fun of anyone, there are several photos of me as a pre-teen and teenager with totally questionable hairstyles. When others view the pictures I have only one word of explanation --- Granny! I have not included those in this post for obvious reasons.
While Granny was dressing up as other people to fool us, planning week-end outings, taking us to lunch in the Boston Store Tea Room, stuffing us with goodies, beating the pants off of us in checkers, and placing prank phone calls to us, Grandpa was just as busy trying to avoid such nonsense.
Since Granny didn't drive, Grandpa would drive us on our week-end outings. While Granddad was one of the slowest drivers in North America, Grandpa was one of the fastest. I don't remember what kind of car they had, but I do know that me, my brother, my sister and at least 3 or 4 cousins fit into the back seat. We were quite comfortable as we were not encumbered by seat belts in those days. (I hear the gasps).
I can still picture the scene as we sped along the highway to our destination. Granny was constantly turned around talking and laughing with us. The only visible part of Grandpa was the back of his head,a hat, and two ears. I bet he was smiling though.
I guess it doesn't really matter what children call their grandparents. What really matters is that children are lucky enough to have grandparents present in their lives and that loving relationships are formed.
That's it for now.
Check back later!
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