5.26.2006
What kind of grandmother do you think you'll be? That question has been niggling at me for the last few days. We have had some not so great news about my grandfather and that has me musing about the roles my grandparents played in my life and the relationship my children have with their grandparents.
Myself, I totally see me as a Paula Deen type grandma. Very southern, on the chubby side with gorgeous white hair and a smile on my face all the time. I'll be happy to have grandchildren when the time is right, I will be the snuggly spoiling grandma always making cookies (ok, buying Oreos) and playing patty cake and tea parties. I don't want to be called Grandma or Granny or MeeMaw. I want to be either Nan or Nana. I'll always smell faintly of Laila perfume and won't go out until "I have my face on."
My mother couldn't be further from me in style. She's stern and not much on hugs. She makes some mean beef and noodles for Shelby and strawberry bread for Patrick in return for them working in the yard with her. She sometimes acts more like a mom than a grandmother, but now with 8 grandchildren, I think she's mellowing.
My father's mother lives in California with my grandpa. She's never lived near me so time with her was always a treat. She paints and does lots of mixed media art. For years she hand painted china ornaments for each grandchild every Christmas. She was the first person to ever teach me how to make spinach dip (back when nobody on the east coast had even heard of it) and that tree bark is made up of hundreds of different colors and hues.
My mom's mom. Oh how I miss her. She crocheted, knit, made homemade fudge and divinity for my dad, giblet gravy and amazing stuffing every holiday. I have a quilt she hand stitched out of scraps of clothing that my parents, sister and I wore way way back in the early 70's. She loved crossword puzzles and reading and Days of our Lives. My grandma Dorothy-that's the grandma I want to be.
posted by Keriann at 5/26/2006 06:12:00 PM comment(s) made:
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