I had intentions of posting about my grandparents all at once, but I guess they're just too good to all fit on one page! So tonight I'm thankful for my other grandparents, my Pawpaw and my Granny.
How can I put them into words? I'll start with Pawpaw. Most people call him Doc. I'm not really sure why. I was his first grandchild, and he spoiled me profusely. Not just me... he spoiled all of his grandchildren. My grandparents are frugal people. They waste nothing and spending money has never been their favorite thing. As a child my sister and I would sometimes go home with them after church on Sundays. Usually, if a race wasn't on television, we would go out for lunch and then to Rose's. How many of you remember when Rose's was at the mall? Inside the store, Pawpaw would walk around with us girls while Granny did her shopping. She would always tell us before we entered that we would not be getting toys that day. Pawpaw, however, would whisper for us to both pick us out "a little something" and pay for it himself before Granny made it back to the front of the store. She would just shake her head and smile.
Pawpaw had slicked back hair. When I was really little I would mess it up during church. He hated that a lot! Once, during a game of hide and go seek, he climbed up a tree to hide from us. I'll bet we searched for him for thirty minutes before we finally heard his laughter up above our heads. He could also do one magic trick, which he perfected over the years: he would swallow a piece of paper and make it come out of his ear. Good times! He would always let us kids choose what to watch on TV as long as his "race" wasn't on. During my basketball playing days I wanted to go to camp and my parents said no because it was too expensive. The next thing I knew, Pawpaw was signing me up. He came to all of my ball games and would give me constructive criticism on how to improve my game during the ride back home.
He loves to go to gospel singings, but hates "canned music". I never thought he had a serious side until one day he rode with me to pick Jordan up from preschool. We were waiting in the carpool line and he started talking to me about Shaun. I don't remember exactly what he said... something about how he wished Shaun was able to do something or another... it was something about the disability. My Pawpaw has never been the most tactful person in the world, and I just didn't feel like talking about Shaun that day. I got all offensive and turned to look at him and let him have it, but he had tears in his eyes. And that meant the world to me. He knew how I felt. He knew I was hurting, he just didn't know what to say to me or how to say it. He's always making me laugh. He loves me and my children. He loves his garden, fishing, and his tractor. And he loves his wife.
My Granny is something special, too. As I mentioned above, she is frugal. My mom told me once that Granny went to a store to buy new furniture. Rather than paying with cash or a check, Granny had several weeks worth of paychecks in her pocketbook, which she just signed over to the store. One summer she was teaching me how to freeze green beans. At the end of the day she sent me home several bags of the frozen beans. One of the bags had been reused over and over since the 1980's. I kid you not. My mom, sister, and I used to race to the kitchen after family dinners so that we could throw away the plastic plates and cups before Granny would start washing them.
My granny loved me tirelessly through my rebellious teen years and didn't bat an eyelash when she took me Christmas shopping and I asked her to buy me bright red Doc Martens. She did, however, have a thing or two to say when I dyed my hair pitch black.
I used to sit with her every Sunday at church and listen to her alto voice singing along with the hymns. She would always let me go through her purse. I was always amazed that she had lots of cash in her wallet. I would start counting it and she would shush me and tell me to put it away. She used to do the motions to "Here is the church" with me all the time. When she would "open the doors and see all the people" she would laugh and say, "Go home with me, go home with me!" the way all southern ladies do after church. I would always beg to go home with her. She could usually talk my mom into it. She used to let me take her egg beater out to the sand box. She was the first one to tell me that I was getting boobs.
When Shaun was born she kept him once a week to give my Mamaw a break. She would take him everywhere. To the grocery store, to Wal-Mart, to get his hair cut, fishing, you name it. Now that she's getting older, it's hard for her to keep all of the kids at once, so they get to go by themselves. They love it, and so does she. No matter what time of day it is when we visit, she asks Shaun what he wants to eat... and then cooks whatever he requests. Usually he wants peas, fried okra, and macaroni. I've been told that nothing I cook can compare to Granny's food.
She's always been there for me. When my uncle suddenly passed away, I was able to be there for her. In a way, we were suddenly equal with each other. We hadn't went through the same things with our children, but there's always a kind of common ground between parents of kids with special issues and kids who have died. A "club" of sorts. We began talking about our struggles and comparing our anti-depression medications. I'm so thankful I have her.
Neither of these posts have done any of my grandparents justice. There's so much more I could write. Years of memories and smiles and laughs and tears. But for now I will just end by thanking God for my wonderful grandparents.
Celebrating 60 years of marriage!
How can I put them into words? I'll start with Pawpaw. Most people call him Doc. I'm not really sure why. I was his first grandchild, and he spoiled me profusely. Not just me... he spoiled all of his grandchildren. My grandparents are frugal people. They waste nothing and spending money has never been their favorite thing. As a child my sister and I would sometimes go home with them after church on Sundays. Usually, if a race wasn't on television, we would go out for lunch and then to Rose's. How many of you remember when Rose's was at the mall? Inside the store, Pawpaw would walk around with us girls while Granny did her shopping. She would always tell us before we entered that we would not be getting toys that day. Pawpaw, however, would whisper for us to both pick us out "a little something" and pay for it himself before Granny made it back to the front of the store. She would just shake her head and smile.
Pawpaw had slicked back hair. When I was really little I would mess it up during church. He hated that a lot! Once, during a game of hide and go seek, he climbed up a tree to hide from us. I'll bet we searched for him for thirty minutes before we finally heard his laughter up above our heads. He could also do one magic trick, which he perfected over the years: he would swallow a piece of paper and make it come out of his ear. Good times! He would always let us kids choose what to watch on TV as long as his "race" wasn't on. During my basketball playing days I wanted to go to camp and my parents said no because it was too expensive. The next thing I knew, Pawpaw was signing me up. He came to all of my ball games and would give me constructive criticism on how to improve my game during the ride back home.
He loves to go to gospel singings, but hates "canned music". I never thought he had a serious side until one day he rode with me to pick Jordan up from preschool. We were waiting in the carpool line and he started talking to me about Shaun. I don't remember exactly what he said... something about how he wished Shaun was able to do something or another... it was something about the disability. My Pawpaw has never been the most tactful person in the world, and I just didn't feel like talking about Shaun that day. I got all offensive and turned to look at him and let him have it, but he had tears in his eyes. And that meant the world to me. He knew how I felt. He knew I was hurting, he just didn't know what to say to me or how to say it. He's always making me laugh. He loves me and my children. He loves his garden, fishing, and his tractor. And he loves his wife.
My Granny is something special, too. As I mentioned above, she is frugal. My mom told me once that Granny went to a store to buy new furniture. Rather than paying with cash or a check, Granny had several weeks worth of paychecks in her pocketbook, which she just signed over to the store. One summer she was teaching me how to freeze green beans. At the end of the day she sent me home several bags of the frozen beans. One of the bags had been reused over and over since the 1980's. I kid you not. My mom, sister, and I used to race to the kitchen after family dinners so that we could throw away the plastic plates and cups before Granny would start washing them.
My granny loved me tirelessly through my rebellious teen years and didn't bat an eyelash when she took me Christmas shopping and I asked her to buy me bright red Doc Martens. She did, however, have a thing or two to say when I dyed my hair pitch black.
I used to sit with her every Sunday at church and listen to her alto voice singing along with the hymns. She would always let me go through her purse. I was always amazed that she had lots of cash in her wallet. I would start counting it and she would shush me and tell me to put it away. She used to do the motions to "Here is the church" with me all the time. When she would "open the doors and see all the people" she would laugh and say, "Go home with me, go home with me!" the way all southern ladies do after church. I would always beg to go home with her. She could usually talk my mom into it. She used to let me take her egg beater out to the sand box. She was the first one to tell me that I was getting boobs.
When Shaun was born she kept him once a week to give my Mamaw a break. She would take him everywhere. To the grocery store, to Wal-Mart, to get his hair cut, fishing, you name it. Now that she's getting older, it's hard for her to keep all of the kids at once, so they get to go by themselves. They love it, and so does she. No matter what time of day it is when we visit, she asks Shaun what he wants to eat... and then cooks whatever he requests. Usually he wants peas, fried okra, and macaroni. I've been told that nothing I cook can compare to Granny's food.
She's always been there for me. When my uncle suddenly passed away, I was able to be there for her. In a way, we were suddenly equal with each other. We hadn't went through the same things with our children, but there's always a kind of common ground between parents of kids with special issues and kids who have died. A "club" of sorts. We began talking about our struggles and comparing our anti-depression medications. I'm so thankful I have her.
Neither of these posts have done any of my grandparents justice. There's so much more I could write. Years of memories and smiles and laughs and tears. But for now I will just end by thanking God for my wonderful grandparents.
Celebrating 60 years of marriage!
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