I get a phone call yesterday from my daughter, Renae, around noon. What is she calling me for? She should be at school and not on the phone with me! Renae sadly tells me she was pulled out early because her Poppa passed away. Last month the news came that her Grammy passed. Strange to say, Renae and I were just speaking of older couples, when one passes the other dies soon after quite often. Even though Renae and I were prepared for this and spoke of him possibly passing soon, the news shocked and hurt me.
I haven’t been close to Grammy and Poppa since I’ve established my relationship with my current husband. However, seeing them every few years at gatherings at Renae’s father’s home was always refreshing to me. My memories of her grandparents have always been of greatness!
Poppa was a great cook, he owned a restaurant in Folsom, Ca. Something about that place sits as a life lesson for me. I worked at his restaurant after school let out, or on Holiday’s and Summer break often. Grabbing a few items often at the good ole’ Smart & Final for the restaurant, smelling his biscuits come out fresh from the oven, peeling and cutting up home-fries in preparation of the day, learning how to fold a cloth napkin correctly, washing loads and loads of dishes in scalding hot water, and a matter of a fact… he taught me how to make chicken fried steak(yes, his is a lot better tasting then mine, but hey)! Do I need to say more? When I think of home cooking and words of the wise, I think of him first. He was always one to show love through food and speak of what needed to be spoken of in a precise manner. Poppa wasn’t one to be of any foolishness and he was a great man, a man of honor, a man who worked hard for his family.
Grammy was another I was very fond of. Tears come to my eyes thinking of her and what she meant to me. I remember sitting at her bedside when she was quite healthy and young, this was about 15-20 years ago, well before Renae at 14 years of age was a thought. Grammy would be there watching her shows speaking of funny and trivial family stories from when she was a girl, when she first met Poppa, when she was a young mother, of when she was a new grandmother, and of recent events. She would tell me about her shows, and there was always something around the house to be fixed… I knew about all of it! She spoke so fast, most couldn’t keep up! I could, I always kept up! I remember her smell, the softness of her hair,the warmth of her hugs, and the gentleness in her eyes all to well. She was a great woman!
When I speak to my husband about the future and imagine me as a Grandmother I remember how she was and tell him that wll be me( as if I could be so GREAT)… I never said to him I wanted to be like her as a Grandmother but my examples are of what I know of her. She always had a story to tell and these stories were great ones. She could tell a story about nothing and turn it into something without changing it one bit. A talented, wise, loving, gentle yet “about business” woman she was.
True indeed, they lived a lifetime. They lived the golden years. I pray that my husband and I can live the golden years just as they did. Sure they had struggles but they had an unconditional and undying love. I miss you Grammy and Poppa and I thank you for instilling the values in me that you did. You will never be forgotten and will be always treasured!
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