Grandma

Grandma, originally uploaded by Snakelover61.

Today is Grandma's 83rd birthday! Mindy and I took her to lunch today to celebrate. Let me tell you a little bit about my mom's mom. First of all, she still lives on her own. She drives. She cooks. She mows her own yard. She cleans her own house. As a matter of fact, once a week she cleans my mom's house too. She babysits. Are you getting the picture?

She grew up in the great depression. When she was a little girl, she lived in a tent year round. Her dad worked in the timber. Making railroad ties. With a broad axe. For fifty cents each. They got their water from a creek and strained out the tadpoles and mosquito larva, which she called "wigglers." They ate wild game, poke salad and whatever they could pick or trade for to supplement what little they could afford to buy. As she said, "There weren't any fat people in the camps where I grew up."

They heated the tent with a wood burning stove. They had no furniture, only cots and foot lockers, which served as beds, storage, chairs and tables. They made their own soap. And a lot of other things that we take for granted. They washed their clothes in a tub over an open fire, agitating them with a stick. And hung them on branches and over bushes to dry. They had coal oil lamps, which she said they were hardly ever allowed to burn because, "Daddy was so tired by the time it got dark, he didn't want the light on."

She had four brothers. But one was killed at age 17 when a tree fell on him. Grandma worked in the fields, picking whatever was in season. She dropped out of school when she was in the sixth grade to work full time. It was a very different time.

She was working as a waitress when she met my grandpa during WWII. He was a staff sergeant in the army and had already seen combat. He was temporarily stationed in California to help train new recruits. But after my mom was born, he was sent back overseas. He received three purple hearts. He was shot, cut with a bayonet and blown out of a foxhole by shell fire, but I don't know if those were the particular things for which the purple hearts were awarded. I do know he had a lot of scars. Some shrapnel messed up his insides pretty bad and the surgeons weren't able to put everything back exactly as it had been. He was plagued with stomach and digestive problems for the rest of his life. But I'll tell you one thing. He never missed a chance to take his grandson fishing!

Grandma and Grandpa had four children. My mom is the oldest, followed by Tony, Connie and then Mike. My uncle Tony was killed in a car accident during his second year of college. Grandma told us of that again today with tears in her eyes. She still grieves. She grieves for Grandpa too. He died of cancer about 25 years ago. I had to think about that and I can't believe it's been that long. I miss him.



The picture above is of Grandma and Mom. There's so much more I could tell you, but I think I'll stop there. Happy Birthday, Grandma!