Grandmas & Grandpas

Growing up I saw my Grandma & Grandpa M once a year. I was always jealous of my cousins who lived closer and saw them much more often. They lived in Salt Lake City, so that was the destination for every family vacation: Utah. My family would make the 12 hour drive from California, usually through the night so all us kids could sleep while my dad drove. In the early years we had a huge 12 passenger Dodge van, and my dad had constructed a bed in the very back to put all the luggage under, and a few of us kids could sleep on the top. I loved getting cozy on that bed. I could always tell we were getting close when we'd see that random sculpture in the middle of the salt flats, and then the waving Indian around the corner from G&G's home. Grandma always had a jar of candy on her kitchen counter, with my favorite orange slices in it. And I could always count on her to have Honeycomb cereal. Our most recent school picture was up on a board in the dining room. There was a piano down in the basement I loved playing. In the back yard was a small crop of corn and other vegetables. Behind the garden was a little patch of grass I used to pretend was my secret garden. There were a lot of spiders in the basement window wells. Grandma had her food storage in a dark room in the basement and she'd ask me to go get something for her and I'd be so scared going into that darn room. Grandpa was always sitting in his chair, and when I go over to talk with him, he'd hold my hand and tell me how important school was. Grandma would sit in the other chair and when they disagreed about something, Grandpa would say, "Now Jean...." They were good people. Before I knew them, grandma had been a nurse and grandpa had been a dairy farmer. Grandpa had a stroke long before I remember, but I didn't know that until I was older. I had always assumed my grandpa was old and had a hard time talking... his slurred speech made a lot more sense once I found out about his stroke. One time some of Grandpa's corn stalks had gotten knocked over, and since he knew I liked playing behind the garden, he thought I had knocked them down and was pretty upset. I think that was the first time I remember getting blamed for something that I knew I hadn't done. Later that day he found out another cousin had done it, and he told me he was sorry for getting so mad. Grandpa died first. That was a sad time, especially for Grandma. I remember feeling so sad for her at his funeral. I remember being excited to go to BYU so that I could finally live close to Grandma, but then she died shortly into my freshman year. I loved them, and even though we saw them rarely, I knew they loved me. Today is my Grandma's birthday. She would have been 92 years old.

I saw my mom's parent's, Grandmother & Grandpa C more often simply because they lived in Southern California. They would drive up to visit us. I remember turning the corner of our court and seeing their car parked in front of our house and being so excited! Grandpa was always a bit stern with me. When my mom would ask me to do something I'd talk back, he'd get on my case. He had red hair when he was younger, so everyone called him "Red". He was a handy man, an airplane mechanic, and could take one apart and put it back together. He was always fixing things around our home. Grandmother has the prettiest color skin, I've always loved her tan hands. Grandpa and Grandmother C were at our home for Thanksgiving a lot. I remember asking Grandmother to teach me out to make pies and rolls. I loved going to visit their home in Riverside. I would explore their yard and Grandmother would let me help her water the garden. My grandmother always had the yummiest fruit around the house, most of them from her yard. One time the two of us started eating a persimmon that wasn't quite ripe yet so we both started gagging at the bitterness. We laughed and laughed about that for days. Grandpa would be fixing things around their house all the time too. The time my family went to Disneyland we stayed at their house and so every time we'd visit after that trip, I'd think we were going to Disneyland... but we didn't. Grandpa got sick and really skinny. The last time I saw him he wasn't so stern anymore. When the phone rang in the middle of the night and it was Grandmother on the other end, I remember hearing her voice and knowing that he was gone. I ran into my mom's room to tell her to get the phone, and then my sisters and I just cried. Grandpa C was my first Grandparent to die. I remember walking around that day, feeling so empty and so so sad. The nice thing is the entire extended family was headed to their home that same week for a reunion. Sadly we didn't make it in time to say goodbye to Grandpa, but in the end it was a lovely time to be together and to help Grandmother and to remember Grandpa together. My Grandmother C has a way of loving everyone. She so accepting always so very excited to see me. I think she's the most wonderful Grandmother in the world. She quilts the most amazing quilts with my aunts. She gave us a quilt for our wedding and I will treasure it forever. A couple summers ago I went and spent a few days with my grandmother, just the two of us, and it was the first time I had ever done that. We had a great time together while she taught me how to sew. Grandmother C loves to play games, which I think is why I love to play games so much... but watch out, she's a stickler for the rules!

Today I'm thankful for the legacy of my grandpas and grandmas.

What do you remember about your grandparents?