I Remember When: Grandparents Edition

I've never really done a "series or theme" on my blog, but I had a good conversation with a friend today that inspired me. My kids were complaining about something the other day & I told them "well, I didn't have all this stuff that you have now like an iPod, Wii, computer, DS, etc." They just looked at me kind of blank. I think kids are so overstimulated these days with everything that's out there to keep them entertained that we've lost sight of what like really used to be like... you know when you actually "played". I had a great childhood & many fond memories, so these next few posts are going to be about memories I had growing up.

I loved my grandparents! Sadly, none of them are still living, but I want my kids to know how it was for me when I was little. I know my kids are forming their own memories with their grandparents now, but this is what I remember about mine.

My MamMaw Kirby (my Dad's mom)

I remember riding the bus to her house after school and walking up the gravel driveway to have her meet me in the garden to pick something to eat for a snack. I also remember her giving me Doritos & ranch dressing for a snack too :-) I remember getting a drink of water from the well on her front porch. This was the kind that you had to lower the bucket into & crank it up with your own muscle & sipping from the bent ladle that hung from the side of a ledge on the porch. I remember her teaching me how to peel cucumbers with a real knife & how hot it was in the kitchen in the summer. I remember helping her can cucumbers & storing them in the storm cellar and almost coudln't wait for them to get ripe enough in the cans to eat. I remember helping her pick cherries off the tree beside the house and eating them frozen from the storage containers in the freezer. I remember watching Jeopardy & Wheel of Fortune while I waited for my Daddy to come pick me up.

My MeeMaw & PawPaw (my Mom's parents)

I remember going over to their house every Sunday after church for lunch. I remember playing in their backyard with my cousin & eating on the concrete picnic table that was back there while my PawPaw sat & watched us. I remember helping my MeeMaw hang clothes to dry on the clothesline and walking to the laundry mat across the street to dry them in the winter. I remember having Christams Eve at their house every year while they sat & just watched everyone open presents. I remember listening to old records & putting on my PawPaw's headphones and having steak, baked potato & salad every Friday night... I even remember the taste of her ranch dressing. I remember sometimes walking to our church (which wasn't too far away) with my MeeMaw & her teaching my Sunday School class when I was little. I remember the old desk that was built into the wall at their house & how I loved to rummage through the drawers & use all of my MeewMaw's pens & pads (she worked for a lawyer's office, so she always had really cool stuff). I remember looking through their old photos from when they were young & thinking how much my PawPaw looked like Bing Crosby.

My Nannie & Pa (my Mom's Grandparents)

I stayed with them a lot in the summers when I was little while my Mom worked. They lived beside my MeeMaw & PawPaw as well, so I seemed to float back & forth between their houses. I remember stringing green beans & shucking crowder peas in the garage with the doors open & fans just a rumbling. I remember my Pa going to get KFC once a week to get us lunch & him drinking cold coffee out of a bowl. I remember baking a lot with my Nannie & she would give me frozen butter, sugar & icing anytime I wanted it. Her apple pies, chocolate cupcakes & lemon pies are what I liked the most. I remember Nannie taking a huge old knife & scraping ice from the walls of the freezer (this was before frost free ones & they always had ice build up) onto a plate with purple flowers & eating it. We ate lots of pinto beans & the cooked forever on the stove. I remember playing on their big front porch & taking naps on a cot out there. I remember them sitting in their rocking chairs on this porch & watching the traffic go by for what seemed like hours. I remember my Pa paying me 25 cents if I would pick the blackheads from his neck (gross, I know, but I always did it). I remember making bells with my Nannie & she always seemed to have some kind of sewing project ongoing... like raggy ann dolls. I remember a huge, old plastic doll that I loved to play with that had 2 missed fingers. I think it was my Mom's doll when she was little.

As I've sat here typing these, it seems like an eternity ago but it's fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday. Stay tuned for more to come....