Wonderful grandmas: would you like to share your memories?

[3lilreds in NC]

I'm starting this thread because someone made the suggestion in my other, whiney thread. :D I had fabulous grandmothers and my very special Grandma Shauver died last week.

 

I have lots of memories of her, but my favorite story is of when I was born. My dad called to tell her, of course, and when she heard I was a girl, she said, "Oh! It's a girl!" and hung up the phone without asking about my mom, or me, or anything. She'd always wanted a girl. When her 3rd son was born, she told the doctor to put him back! :lol: She delighted in sewing frilly dresses and nightgowns for my sister and me.

 

Do you have special memories of your grandmother(s) that you would like to share? I would love to hear about them! I love grandmas.

[CAMom]

This time last year, I was caring for my beloved Grammie Hazel while she was dying of kidney failure. She really was my mother figure. I loved her with my whole heart!

 

My mom says that I had a unbreakable bond with my grandma from the time I was born. She describes me be inconsolable as an infant but magically quiet the minute my grandma would walk in the door-before I'd seen or heard her.

 

I remember her allowing me to wear her square dancing dresses and shoes. So fun! I remember Sunday dinners at her house. I remember hours of playing Uno with her when I was a teenager. I can remember how she smelled-so fresh! I remember the feel of her arm wrapped in mine while I helped her walk when she went legally blind over the past 10 years.

 

I can't begin to describe how much I miss her! I am so incredibly thankful that my kids had a long term, close relationship with her.

 

Although I didn't have the same relationship with my paternal grandma, I loved her like crazy, too. She was the storytime lady at the library for years and she made up many of her own stories along with puppets to go along with them. She was the town grandma.:) She had silvery hair and a laugh that was so contagious not even the grouchiest person alive could resist.

 

I am so blessed to have had to incredible grandma's who so enriched my life!:)

[milovany]

My gramma is 98 now. I have so many good memories -- she's the only grand parent I ever knew. We always lived about 18 hours away from her (she was in Saskatchewan and we lived near Puget Sound in Washington), but she would come out yearly to see us. I remember going to either the airport (fun) or the bus station (scary) to pick her up.

 

We did so many things on her visits -- she would make us weed mom's flower beds, we'd go hiking, she'd make yummy treats, we'd play game after game after game of cards, etc.

 

She was quite generous -- or at least I'm thankful for the generosity I received from her. During spring break of one of my college years, a penpal that I'd had for years from New Zealand was going to be in San Francisco (the closest she could get to the Seattle area -- she was traveling with others). My gramma paid for my Amtrak ticket to San Fran. It was a wonderful trip with fantastic memories.

 

Gramma was a teacher, a great conversationalist, a warm soul with a happy heart.

 

I last saw my gramma in March when her health seemed to be going down quickly (my parents suggested I go if I wanted to see her again). I flew to Regina to see her. She still knows who we are, although is more forgetful. Okay, now I'm crying. I will miss her terribly when she passes. When I was with her, she kept saying, "I want to go home, I want to go home." I'm so very glad I got to go in March, and who knows -- she may hold on for some time and maybe I'll get to see her again.

Edited July 2, 2010 by milovaný

[Joker]

My grandma was truly my best friend. I was only 12 when she died, but I remember her as well today as I did then. She was tough yet loving. She was the only one in her family to graduate high school. She also went on to college and received her master's degree. She taught school for over 30 years and only retired because of parkinson's disease. I still meet people today that will ask if I was related to Mrs. ____ and that she was their favorite. The memory of her that always makes me laugh is actually of her and my dad. She was a teacher at his school and once he thought he would skip with his friends (they were about 6th grade). He rode to school with her and pretended to go to class. He made his way to the back door and opened it and she was standing there - she just smiled and told him he could never get away with anything as long as she was his mother. He said he never tried it again and for the longest time he was scared of her and what she "knew". I miss her so much!! Thanks for this thread!

[elegantlion]

I love grandma stories, unfortunately I was never that close to any of mine. However, I have some good memories and stories of them.

 

My dad was raised by his grandparents. His grandmother took on the roll of mother quite well. We used to visit at least once a month.

 

My mother's mother was always cooking. Rural southern MO grandmother. She would cook and talk. She was 94 when she passed away. She had this beautiful long hair, passed her waist, that she would brush every morning and then put up. Even at 94 she hardly had any grey hair.

 

My favorite grandma stories are the ones my son will tell. He was born on my mom's birthday and they are best buddies. We moved away four years ago and the only place he wants to spend his birthday is my parents house, so every year we TRY to make the trip, all 800 miles. There is like an unwritten code of communication between them. He keeps a picture of her on his school desk. He's dying to move back just to be closer to them. (We're considering it for many reasons) She makes quilts and makes him pillowcases and pillows.

[Carrie12345]

My grandmother just turned 80, and her mind is getting a little fuzzy. It terrifies me!

 

I grew up with my mom's parents being a very big part of my life. We lived with them for several months while our house was being remodeled. They lived above the tavern they owned, and my grandmother let us hang out in the kitchen a lot, where we got to nibble all day. Grandpa let us use the soda shooter. :D

We were there through Christmas that year so, in addition to the gifts and stockings we and our cousins always had there, we also had our "regular" stash. Christmas took up the entire (large) living room. The pictures are amazing!

 

We were a campground family, and our grandparents' trailer was right next to ours. Grandma would make enough pancake batter (which Grandpa would cook on the then-sold tavern's griddle, outside) to feed the entire family, plus any of our friends who would wander over.

 

Everyone in the family has a blanket knitted by Grandma. She made a king sized blanket for my wedding gift, and it's amazing. Each of my children and my niece have been given a knitted blanket, sweater, and hat when they were born. I know she had trouble getting my niece's finished last year. I really hope she can manage for this baby, but I also hate that she probably feels very pressured to make it happen.

 

Grandma hates to cuss, but when she's very, very angry, she says G-dammit, followed by "And I mean it!", so that's what the rest of us vulgar-mouthed people say when we're especially mad.

[littlebug42]

I did not get to see my grandma's often but I do have good memories of them.

 

My father's mother died when I was 9 (my Dad was the youngest of 11). I was her youngest grandchild. I remember seeing her about one month before she died. She had a doll that my parents had given her that she loved. She gave it to me then because she told my Mom that she knew she didn't have much time left and she was afraid that I wouldn't get it when she died so she gave it to me beforehand. I still have and love that doll.

 

My mother's mother died when I was 22. I was always closer to her. When I was a teenager, I had a conversation with her about the morning my grandfather had died several years before. They were at home on a Saturday morning calling their children which was the routine for them. She felt him lay his head on her shoulder while she was talking to my aunt. She thought he was sleeping but he had died so peacefully. She didn't tend to show emotions much but that day as she relayed that story, she was crying. I really felt the depth of the love they had for each other and gave me new respect for her and what she had been through with it. I also felt with that conversation that she was for the first time, talking to me woman to woman instead of to a child. I miss her.

[LibraryLover]

One of my first memories of my paternal g'mother is of her braiding my hair when I was really young. She would then loop them ...yk, pin them to the side of my head with bobby pins. I loved that..I felt like Heidi.

 

My maternal g'mother used to take us places every weekend. To a local amusment park (which we got dressed up for when I was very young...it was an old fashioned kind of place then lol), to malls, to play at our cousins. They did something everyweeked with their siblings...sometimes they would play cards while we cousins ran around playing. Great memories.

[Lucy in Australia]

I have a theory that when you get old and, dare I say it, a little senile, your true self comes out. It's like older people lose their inhibitions or just can't be bothered pretending anymore. My grandmother lived to the age of 92 and had dementia. What I remember most clearly is that she never, ever got cranky, mad or resentful. When she first started losing her memory she laughed about it, even when it must have been mortifying. As kids, we were still a little insensitive about these things and ocasionally teased her about it. She laughed with us. And till she became unconscious, she thanked my parents several times a day for caring for her so well...

 

I'm trying my best to make sure my "self" is as beautiful as hers was :crying:

[NanceXToo]

My grandma (I called her Nanny) died at nearly 97 years of age, not all that long ago. She was sharp, right up until the end!

 

She used to play cards and drink vodka out of a silver flask. She spoke her mind.

 

I can remember as a little girl, she and I would play the "I hate you" game. I'd sit on her lap and one of us would start by saying "I hate you." And then we'd go back and forth trying to think of as many ways to say "I hate you" as we could. "I despise you." "I detest you." "I abhor you."

 

I always knew I hate you meant "I love you."

 

It's a good memory.

 

:)

[3lilreds in NC]

Nance, you and your grandma were a little strange. :D

 

Lucy, :grouphug: My grandma who died several years ago was a beautiful person. She got better with age. She was always loving people, taking care of people, doing whatever she could to reach out. She was treasured. (She got mad at me because when she was in her hospital bed at home I expected her GROWN SONS to get their own lunch. I was supposed to FEED THEM at their beck and call and she was most annoyed that I didn't find that to be necessary, even when she was on morphine. That still makes me giggle.)

 

My grandma who just passed was a bit more persnickety. As she got older, she stopped doing much for the sake of others - or maybe she just got more vocal about not doing it because she was never much of a people pleaser. :lol: She enjoyed being taken care of, which was her right, but withdrew rather than reaching out, if that makes sense.

 

I would like to make sure my "self" is a good one, too.

[NanceXToo]

Nance, you and your grandma were a little strange.:D

 

LOL. Well. Yeah! :)

[MtnTeaching]

I was raised by my grandmother and miss her every day. She just passed away about 4 years ago at 95 years old.

 

I am an only child and my mother (her dd) died when I was 4, my paternal grandmother died 6 months later. My father had a tough time after they passed and I went to live with my grandparents in S. GA, seeing my father on holidays and summers. My father passed away when I was 14 and my grandfather exactly one year later to the day. From then on, it was just my grandmother and me.

 

She was a tiny spit-fire and was supportive in anything I did. She encouraged me to go to college and sent me to travel Europe after college even though she had never even been on a plane. She loved my 6'8" dh and told me I would be a fool to ever let him go, even though marring him would mean that I would move from GA to CA and away from her.

 

She was the wife of a railroad man and a SAHM to three. She told me, though, that her secret desire had always been to be an archeologist and to travel the world digging in the dirt.

 

One of my favorite memories will always be the trip I took her on to Hawaii. As the plane took off, she reached for my hand and smiled at me with tears in her eyes. We stayed 10 days and she wore me out!!!! She drank Mai Tai's, danced the Hula with a gentleman 30 years her junior at a Luau and threw roses into the ocean at the Arizona Memorial.

 

I will always love her and be forever thankful that, in her sixties, she took in a five year old and raised her to be the woman I am today.