A garden of Love grows in a Grandmother’s heart. ~ Unknown
Grandmothers do matter. That they matter a lot has certainly been clear from all the wonderful grandmother stories I’m receiving. Even those of you who didn’t really have a chance to know your grandmothers, realize you missed out on something special and now you’re making up for your loss by being wonderful grandmothers to your own grandchildren.
The lilac Grandmother’s Bible would be so perfect for many of you. It’s a big print edition and truly a lovely Bible. And I did find a lilac scented candle to give to the winner of the “never win anything” contest. If you haven’t entered yet, you still have time. Just shoot me an e-mail from my website or leave a comment here with a way to get in touch should you win. Four prizes total, counting the runner-up prizes. Get the full details on my events page on my website. Just remember to tell me you never win if you never win!
Also have a few blog visits going with chances to win a copy of Scent of Lilacs. Check out my guest posts. “Dark Valley Roads and Bright Mountain Trails” on A Fictional Life or “Heart of Hollyhill” on Giveaway Lady.
Now on to a grandmother story. First Margie tells us about her remarkable grandmother.
grandmother in 1950. One of my aunts and a
cousin’s wife acted as midwives….more than likely delivered me before the
doctor could make it the 10 or so miles to her house…since there was no
telephone, someone had to be dispatched to fetch him! I spent my first 5
years living in Grandmama’s house with my Dad, Mom, older sister, and 2 younger
brothers. How I loved my Grandmama! She was widowed shortly after
the end of WWII, finished raising their 10 children on her own, never had a job
outside the home, and never learned to drive a car. As a tribute to her,
all of her children grew up to become productive members of society. There were 6 boys and 4 girls. At least 4 of the boys served in WWII and
all the girls learned to cook, sew, can, and quilt. I have wonderful
memories of Sunday gatherings at Grandmama’s when all the children and their
children would come. That old house overflowed with people, laughter, and
love!! My Grandmama was always the heart of our family and we still have
a reunion every May in her honor. She was a redhead and she was
strong-willed, tough, and independent…and she followed her heart! Her
parents had arranged for her to marry a wealthy member of their close-knit
community, but just days before their wedding, she eloped with the man who,
though many years her senior, was the love of her life. She bore him 12 children
and all but 2 survived. She was a woman with an indomitable spirit who
taught me many life lessons sitting on her front porch. She’s been gone
home to glory for over 30 years and I still miss her so much. There’s
going to be a lot of catching up to do when I get home.
This comment I got today from Robin. It’s short, but it says so much about grandmothers and something I’ve heard over and over from so many of you – how your grandmothers were faithful Christian examples to you.
grandmother was a very strong influence in my life & brought me to
the Lord. She has been gone for 35 years now, I still miss talking with
her.”
That comment made me remember my husband’s mother. She loved the grandkids calling her Mama Chris. She was an example of Christian faithfulness to her children and grandchildren. She moved on up to heaven several years back, but we have many wonderful stories to remember her by. She had dementia and ended up in a nursing home after having her leg amputated due to diabetes. But the Lord blessed her with peace of mind in her forgetfulness and she was never agitated or unhappy the way my mother often is. In ways, it was a blessing that she didn’t remember because she had long had a horror of having her legs amputated because of diabetic complications. She never seemed to realize her legs were gone. Another blessing. Before she had to go in the nursing home, she went with me to a lot of Darrell’s singings. By then, she was already forgetting what she’d said and tended to say the same things when she saw certain things along the road. I rarely go through where a hill has been blasted away to make a straight road without remembering how she would say, with a hint of awe, “We’d have never known all these rocks were under the ground if it weren’t for these roads.” Other times she’d look at all the cars on the road and say, “I don’t know how the gas holds out.” But my favorite was when we’d get to church and it would be raining and I would have forgotten the umbrella. She’d smile and say, “It’s okay. We’re Baptists. We’re not afraid of the water.” She was a wonderful mother and mother-in-law who loved her grandchildren and loved to laugh.
If nothing is going well, call your grandmother. -Italian Proverb
Thanks for reading. What fun things did your grandmothers say?