Remembering Grandparents

My grandparents were the most special people in my life while I was growing up and into adulthood. I'm pretty sure I've thought of them every single day since they passed. I spent many weekends and summer days at their house and feel so blessed the farthest we ever lived from them was 30 minutes.

I have sweet memories of Grandmother and Granddaddy in every season but the holidays were even more special because my grandparents made them that way. I love that it was all about the prep and anticipation leading up to each holiday. It was all that prep time that fueled the anticipation and excitement. It was also all that prep time that gave us some of the most cherished times together. And, while all the holidays were special, it's the autumn holidays and Christmas that to. this. day. evoke memories affecting each of my senses.

Once my own precious grands arrived I wondered how I would ever fill the shoes my grandparents left behind.  I can't see ever being as good at this grandparenting as they were because they were the best. Seriously, the BEST. Most people think their grandparents were the best but I know mine were.

Ok, ok. I know we all feel this way about our grandparents. And why shouldn't we? They truly were awesome!

In all this walking down memory lane lately, I wondered if I am keeping their memories alive and honoring these wonderful people? Looking back over the years the lovelies were growing up, I think I have done a fairly good job of this.

Some ways I believe I have remembered and honored my grandparents are:

• Telling stories.
• Keeping traditions alive. 
• Making the kitchen the heart of my family. 
• Appreciating nature, including wildlife. 
• Keeping a tidy home. 
• Taking time. Time to do things right. To visit with friends and relatives. To listen, to make, to appreciate, to enjoy.  
• Working hard at whatever I do and giving it my best. 
• Taking care of what I have been given.
• Living honestly.
• Singing through my day. Music was very important to my grandparents. 

I hope the things I do bring honor to my the memory of my grandparents. They gave so much to me in so many ways. I miss them all the time.

How do Y'all remember/honor your grandparents?

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Monday Memories

Hey, y'all! There's a new meme in town and it's all about sharing memories! Y'all know how much I appreciate memories so you can imagine how excited I was to hear of a meme all about writing our memories! I, of course, missed the first one but I'm just going to combine the first and second memories together in this post.

Want to join in? Just click the button and link up to Memory Monday at Retired, Not Tired!

The first prompt was: My First Memory

My first memory is being in my room in the evening and watching my parents outside in the front yard taking care of some yard work. I was probably three years old and I remember looking at my wallpaper and loving it so much. It was red with little flowers on it. When I think back on that wallpaper now, I think the best way to describe it is like calico fabric. Something like this:

Red has always been my favorite color. It remains so to this very day. If I'm not mistaken, only one wall in my room had the wallpaper on it. The other walls were probably a muted white of some shade. But I can't swear to that. I just remember looking at the wall that was to the right of the window and that's where I see, in my mind, the red wallpaper. 

Not a particularly interesting memory. But I did love that wallpaper. Oh, and I'm petty sure I had been sent to bed early but, for some reason, I think it had to do more with an situation between my parents rather than something I had done wrong. Who knows. 

Today's prompt is: My First Home

If this is about my first home after marriage, then I'm spot on. Otherwise, I need to start all over. Ha!

The first home after marriage was a true life hovel in the back of my in-laws' landscape nursery. I hated living there and was glad it only lasted two years. It was the worse place I've ever lived in my life from beginning to now. When it rained, the little horrid place flooded. No matter how many improvements I tried to make, it was just awful. I don't even think I have any pictures of it because, who, in their right mind, would take pictures of such a place? I should have recognized that little hell hole as the red flag it was, but I didn't. I would share the good points of that thing, but there just aren't any.

Anyway, y'all probably get the point that it was a horrid place to live. My second home is the home in which I still reside. And, though it is small, it is a much nicer, cozier place and was a great house in which to raise a family.

Ok, that should catch me up!

Y'all head on over to Retired, Not Tired and join in this fun meme full of memories.

Do Y'all Have This Problem?

I was helping DoodleBug fold her laundry the other day and I came across a pair of what used to be white 'biker' shorts- you know, spandex leggings in the form of shorts. I commented, "Been wearing these much?" And laughed. Oh, she still wears them alright. And she's had them since she played softball. When she was 10. Are you kidding me?

I asked her whether or not she had others. She does. Several pair. She wears these under her shorts while playing Ultimate Frisbee. But she still has and wears the ones she wore over a decade ago. Why?

I think it has something to do with nostalgia.

I have a few things that I keep for no other reason than they belonged to someone close to me or they remind me of some wonderful memory of my childhood.

I tend towards old movies because the actors or the movies themselves remind me of my grandparents or the good things about growing up. I even get sad when an actor of that time passes on.

There are songs on my various playlists that take me right back to those same wonderful memories.

Even a sound or smell can take me back. And I am so grateful for that. I relish those memories. They keep me close to my grandparents, even though they've been gone for a long time now.

Sometimes, my nostalgia overwhelms me and makes me long for days long gone by. But even when it does that, it's not a bad thing. I quite appreciate my nostalgic moments.

Right now, they are taking me back to the long, lazy days of summer...

• the sound of the window fan in my bedroom at night lulling me to sleep with it's soft humming
• the sound of the cicadas singing as we ran around the yard chasing lightning bugs
• the sound from the neighborhood pool- kids having fun- laughing, squealing, splashing-- 'Marco!' 'Polo!'
• the sound of the screen door slamming
• the lawn mower, barking dogs, rain beating against the house, the ice cream truck...

When school starts back, and the weather finally starts to cool just a bit, I'll be transported back to my own school days and the glorious fall season that I loved so much. And still do. Some things never change.

Every season brings a revisit to my childhood. A revisit to the childhood of the lovelies. And a brand new opportunity to make new memories.

Where do your summer memories take you?






..

High School PE

Oh how I hated it. And the teacher. And most of the other students. But that outfit was the worst of all.

source

Holy Crap. I've never seen anything so hideous in my life. It was like a prison jumpsuit but, instead of long pants, they were shorts. And they snapped up the front. The color? A medium shade of blue that would make you seriously consider hurling. They were similar to the one in the picture on the left. Only much, much worse in shape and color.

I'm not sure anyone enjoyed PE. Though it might have been different if we'd had a decent teacher.

This woman was the girls' basketball coach and basketball seemed to be her one and only interest. Except for her basketball players, that is.

We played basketball every day. EVERY day. Her basketball players loved this. The rest of us- not so much. On the rarest of the rare occasion that we did not play basketball, students on the basketball team did not have to participate. Nor did they have to dress out. Really? Regardless of whether or not a student had an excuse to sit-out of PE, she had to dress out. Unless she was on the basketball team. I am still amazed that our stupid teacher did not realize that this was not going to be just fine and dandy with the rest of us. Especially when they team students sat in the bleachers and had social time while we had to run drills. During basketball season, the players did not participate nor did they dress out.

One day a most brilliant non-basketball player student (I promise you, as much as I wish it had been, it was not me) decided that perhaps a sit-out (sit-in?) of sorts might drive the point home that idiot woman's the teacher's methods sucked were not fair to all students. We felt that:

• The fact that teacher didn't require her players to take PE but the state did was wrong.
•  Having one rule for students who made the team and a separate set for those who didn't was quite unfair: everyone should have to dress out or no one should; everyone should have to participate or no one should; etc...
• Basketball was not the only activity in the state PE curriculum.

We walked into the gym and sat on the bleachers. And refused to move. The moron coach/teacher became quite upset. She finally ran into her office crying and had her star player (I remember her name but decided not to post it) come out and try to guilt us into dressing out and having class. Really? Yep. She was that kind of stupid.

Someone might have suggested, after star player's tirade, that going to the principal or our parents or the school board might be the best solution to this problem. 

That's when star player (and this was hilarious) shouted something like, "FINE! We'll dress out and take class." How freaking generous of her, don't you think?

I rarely think about that day in PE but, when I do, I am disgusted with the behavior of the coach/teacher to this very day. And, to this day, I am not a fan of women's basketball.

Oh and that star player? She's the one on the Latin Club trip to the state capital that got so drunk and caused such problems that we never got to go to the Latin Club Convention again. Thanks for that too.


You still have time to enter to win a quart of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil! Just go to the post right HERE.  





This post is part of the NaBloPoMo for May. The theme is PLAY and this post was inspired by the prompt: "What sports did you play as a child."  

 

Recess

I remember not being that thrilled to go out to recess while in elementary school. I would much rather have sat inside and continued doing school work. And I was, most likely, the only kid in my school who felt that way. I may have been the only kid in the state who felt that way.

It wasn't so much because I loved school- even though I did. It was more related to the organized games we had to play during recess. And I kind of sucked at organized games. I wanted to be really good at them. But I wasn't.

So, when it was time to play dodge ball or softball or kick ball, my face did not don an expression of total delight. Which is odd when you know that I loved these games in the neighborhood with the other kids and my cousins. The same people I went to school with. Except that a lot of them were older and I never seemed to be in any of the same classes as those in my grade. OK, so, the kids were different.

I believe that my competitive nature might have been the reason behind my less than enthusiastic attitude about organized games at recess. I was (am) highly competitive and did (do) not like to lose. At anything. And I was not good at these games. I didn't suck to the point that I was the last one picked for a team- it there were 15 kids on each team, I was probably around the 8th one picked. I was not one of the best. But I wanted to be.

Since I couldn't be the best, I didn't enjoy playing. Which made me that much worse at the game. I even let this stop me from trying out for organized sports as I got older. Luckily, I didn't pass this on to the lovelies. They've all played on a team of some sort at some point and did just fine.

I still don't enjoy playing organized games (though cards and board games I totally enjoy...as long as I win). But I do LOVELOVELOVE watching football on the weekends during the season! And college basketball! And soccer! And not being good at playing them doesn't stop me from spouting my opinion during the games. If the neighbors ever hear me they must think I'm trying to kill the husband. I sort of get into it. And yell. A lot.

So, I sucked at playing organized sports during recess in elementary school which deterred me from trying to play in high school and college (even intramural). But it did not stop me from loving sports and games. Thankfully. I'd hate to think who'd be the recipient of my venting if I didn't at least have weekend football!  




You have plenty of time to enter to win a quart of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil! Just go to the post right HERE.  





This post is part of the NaBloPoMo for May. The theme is PLAY and this post was inspired by the prompt: "Write about a strong memory from recess."  

 

Broken

I do not remember ever breaking a toy. I actually think that I've accidentally broken way more things as an adult than I did as a child. Including toys. Luckily, Hubs can fix anything.

When DoodleBug and I went to visit Mimi (my mother) on Thursday, we pulled out the old Singer sewing machine because Mimi's machine is not just broken. It died. She's been sewing clothes for the lovelies and me on her machine since 1989. Including prom dresses and Breezy's wedding gown.

 I was reminded of playing around with her sewing machine when I was growing up. That was my first clue that I would not be a seamstress. Ever. No patience.

The first time Mother let me sew something all by myself, I was pretty excited. It was like a milestone- being old enough to be left alone to sew on the machine. Especially for someone who comes from a family of some amazing seamstresses.

I do not remember what it was I was making--a shirt or a dress--but I remember NOT being able to get it right. Just the simple side seams were not a problem.

But those #$%$ sleeves were. I sew the armholes up. Undid them. I sewed the wrong sleeve on the wrong side. Undid them. I sewed the sleeves closed. Undid them.

The next time I tried to sew something was after I had children of my own. When I made Breezy a rag doll. I suck at sewing. Totally. I know it and I'm ok with it.

I'm quite content living with the memories of the women in the family who could sew so beautifully--which would be all of them except me.

I didn't get that particular gene.

But I did enjoy wearing the clothes. So did the lovelies. As a matter of fact, Mimi still makes clothes for us. And Birdie got the gene! She's already sewing aprons and quilts and skirts.

It is nice to know that someone will be continuing the sewing tradition for the next generation.


This post is part of the NaBloPoMo for May. The theme is PLAY and they provide prompts for those who want/need them. BUT you do NOT have to stick to the theme. You just have to post every day. The prompt that inspired this post was- "Talk about a toy you broke as a child." 

 

It's the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

But not for me. For the third year in a row, I don't have a kid to get ready for the first day of school. The last time I got to shop and get someone up for the first day of school was August 2008 which was DoodleBug's last first day of school. Well, we did move her into a dorm room in August of 2009 for her first year of college- so, that counts. Right?

I should be practically giddy that I don't have to try and get a kid up on the first day of school

I should be extremely grateful that I didn't have to fight to get a kid to go to sleep so they would get up for the first day of school.

I should be thrilled beyond belief that I didn't have to take out a second mortgage to buy school supplies, new school clothes and pay school fees.

I should be tickled pink that I didn't have to sit in first day of school traffic.

I should be delighted that I didn't have to prepare breakfast for four little girls and rush out the door to be on time for the first day of school.

I should be elated that I didn't have to leave a kindergartener crying on the first day of school- actually, I am glad about this one! Though none of the lovelies ever cried at school.

And I am grateful in some ways. But I really do miss those days. We had such fun getting ready for school and going on that first day back. The lovelies LOVED school. But then, it was easy to love school around here. They attended the best elementary school around and had the most amazing teachers!

Middle school left a lot to be desired but the two older lovelies attended the School of the Arts and I homeschooled the two younger ones.

Even high school was full of more good than bad. Seriously, with four daughters attending the same high school and all the teachers they had, we only experienced three who had no business teaching anybody anything EVER.

All is not lost, however. I do still wander the back to school aisles to see what majorly cool cannotdowithoutthem supplies they have these days. Remember those black and white marbled composition notebooks? They have the coolest colors and designs now! I bought two to use for journaling! I even bought more pens that I just had to have! And it was fun listening to the arguing debates between the moms and their kids as to the importance and need of certain items. And then there was the dad who had his three kids in there and had no idea on the face of the earth what he was doing. Good thing the kids were telling him the things they 'needed'. God only knows what those three showed up with today. But it was sure good for a chuckle.

I do still volunteer at the elementary school. And I enjoy it so much! But it's different. I'm not up there now because my kids are up there and I get to see them at school. I just do it because it fills up empty hours it's fun. And hugs from elementary school kids are so rewarding.

But, for the most part, I just watch other people get their kids ready for the first day of school. And remember fondly a time not so long ago when I was one of those frazzled moms trying to make it back to school on time.