Grandma's Birthday

I miss my Grandma... I really miss her and everything about her. There are so many days I have questions that I need to ask her; so many old photos unidentified. She and my grandpa "Pop" lived next door to us all our growing up years. I spent a lot of time at my grandma's house. Grandma would get the old photos out for me to look at and tell me stories about the people in them. I, fortunately remember most stories and some I didn't get to finish hearing~Mother would come over and say, "Now don't bother Grandma with all those old people in those pictures." One of the happiest nights I can recall recently was when I inherited the box of old photos and I put them in my closet just like Grandma did and I fell asleep feeling soo good because all those people I really didn't know were close to me again. Grandma taught me how to jump rope, how to skip and play hop scotch on the sidewalk, how to make an angel food cake. Grandma would brush and fix my hair. Grandma never wore a pair of pants in her life. She always wore hosiery and a house dress every day...I loved that! She got up very early in the morning (I used to tell kids when I was in the first grade that my grandparents got up at 1am to eat breakfast~that was how early I thought it was~the kids didn't believe me about 1am)and fixed a beautiful scrumptious breakfast for herself and Pop. He always had Grape Nuts cereal (we teased that he ate gravel)and Grandma had oatmeal(we teased she ate mush). They ate at 6am. By 9:30am Grandma would begin to cook dinner...a wonderful roast and potatoes and carrots...and sweet iced tea. I loved to go over while they ate because the house smelled soo good and I loved hearing their false teeth click while they ate. Haha..I love that sound. After they ate dinner which was about 11am I would sit on the yellow stool next to the sink and watch Grandma wash the dishes. She had big hands and I loved watching those hands work so deftly~washing, rinsing, drying and wiping the sink dry. After that chore was done she would watch her "programs" as she called them...the soap operas. I would watch them with her. After they were finished she would go to her dresser drawer where she kept all her powder and face cream and bobby pins all neatly placed and organized and I loved the smell of that drawer! Oh, the powdery, perfumy girl smell! She would 'cream' her face as she called it with Lady Esther cold cream and tissue it off and brush her hair and put on another pretty house dress. At this point she would let me look at the jewelry in her jewelry box...that was the best! It was so pretty and I loved the antique jewelry, brooches and rings. She told me stories of them and when I turned 12 she gave me an antique garnet ring. I cherished that ring and still have it. When I turned 16 she gave me another antique ring with a raised stone. I later give that ring to my sister because I felt sorry for her that she didn't get a ring from Grandma. Grandma and Pop knew I loved anything antique and knew I would take very good care of whatever they gave me. There was an antique garnet star brooch that I loved and she said it had been my great grandmother's on Pop's side but Pop being superstitious said no one was ever to wear the brooch because his mother had it on when she was killed in an automobile accident. My mother inherited it and finally gave it to me before she passed away. I will never wear it but I love it soo much...It might as well be a trunk full of garnets as far as I'm concerned..I cherish it so! After Grandma prettied up for the rest of her day it was time to take a little nap on the couch and then she would rise and fix a very small supper for herself and Pop, usually sandwiches from the meat of the dinner and sweet tea again. That would be at 4:30 pm. Around 7pm they would have ice cream and on Saturday night would watch Lawrence Welk. I loved to go over there then and watch with them. They would retire to bed at 8:30pm. This framed prayer always hung beside the headboard of my Grandma's bed. It hangs next to my headboard now. I loved my Grandma's daily routine...I wanted to be just like her. They lived very long healthy lives I think because of the wonderful balanced lifestyle they had. She lived to be 92. Pop lived to be 95. They both died in their own homes in their own beds. They were so lucky. Grandma would have been 121 this year! Happy Birthday, Grandma!