Community Chat

[Burnsite]

Hi, cherry, What is it about snoring in pets that is so adorable?  My cat Claire (on my icon) is a tiny 5 lb. persian/siamese mix who looks so delicate, and she snores llike Rip Van Winkle!  It is so cute.

I remember my grandfather's (on my mother's side) Morris chair, a mission style early (1910s?) recliner.  In it he watched the Red Sox on TV and held gentle court during family get togethers.  My grandmother died young but my one memory of her, from when I was very small, was her difficulty in walking, as she was an amputee, and her gentle, sweet, low-pitched voice. I realized later it was almost identical to my mother's voice. 

For my father's family, I remember the incredible "woody" smell of their house, which was heated by a wood fire, and the rides my grandfather would give me on the tractor.  They actually weren't farmers, but they rented a farmhouse farmed by someone else in southern NH.  And to me, that little farm was heaven on earth. 

[halfpint1]

I never knew my paternal ones. I don't know anything about them. My maternal ones I might have met but i was too yo ung.. I hope my son remembers my parents and has good memorries since th ey have been gone quite awhile.

[Lila Belle]

Too many memories to count! Spending time in Alabama at my gram's family farm learning to make bread pudding and Gus ( my granddad ) shooting mistletoe down with his grandfather's shotgun. Tea parties with my nan, baking soda bread, scones and Big Mitch's example of protecting and defending those who are the targets of bigotry and persecution because of their religion, mental disabilities and sexual orientation.

My4 grands are in their nineties and I'm so fortunate that they're alive and healthy.

[KateE]

I was very lucky to have both set's of grandparents until age 30 and my great-grandmother who lived until 98. My Dad's parents were fun, they did so much with their grandkids. One memory comes to mind, I spent a summer with them at their summer home in Michigan, one afternoon they took me for a drive around Lake Michigan, we stopped for lunch and they let me get a tiny doll at a local store. I still have this doll and the clothes that came with her. They were the best, my grandfather made my friends feel like such a part of our family, that they too, called him Grandpa. They loved him, as much as he loved them. His mother who lived to be 98 was a hoot and very loving just like him. I miss them all. .

[sapphire 2]

All of you have amazing, wonderful entertaining stories. I am sorry that some of you do not have happy memories.

Lesa I enlarged your story; yours has to be the most unique. WOW!

RainyDayGirl your grandmother was so right. 

[ECBG]

My grandparents in my dad's side were fantastic.  My grandfather graduated from the Citatel and was an air force bommer pilot in all the wars until around his forty-fifth birthday.  

I was a constant shadow to my grandmother, also my dad's mom.  She was the top business woman in this town, the largest, until you get into the piedmont of our state.  She was a true Victorian, born in 1900 and she had two boys until I was born.  I would go to our family's large fine shoe store whenever I could just to be around her and spent every weekend with them.  Sometimes the housekeeper would cook Sunday dinner, but most often we would get dressed yo and go out.  They, (she), taught me everything.  I always hated to leave her.

I was not close to my mother's parents, although I loved their housekeeper.

[DiAnne]

I have wonderful memories.  Both sets of grandparents, one set of great grandparents and another great grandfather all lived in Pasadena, CA.  The Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game were always big events in our lives.  My father had six sisters which made for large holidays.

[Pqfan]

They kept the fridge filled with Milkyways and 3 Musketeers and told me I could eat them whenever I want lol!

I never had a chance at being slim!

The deck was stacked against me folks.

[QVCPhobe]

I was closer to my maternal grandparents.  I remember my grandmother telling us stories before we went to sleep.  I also enjoyed sitting on the front porch with them.  The passed away years ago and I still remember their voices.

[on the bay]

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@RedTop wrote:

I have wonderful memories of both sets of grandparents.   I still live on land that was part of my paternal grandparents farm; I sit on my front porch and look at the farm, thinking of the way it was in the 60's and 70's when they were alive.    I spent a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa, who along with my dad were very hard workers.

My maternal grandparents also lived in this neighborhood.  Mamaw was a Sunday School teacher, and Papaw worked on the railroad.   We went to their house every Saturday and spent the whole day; Mom and her sister cleaned the house, and made several of the foods we would eat for Sunday dinner.   The whole family gathered there after church and the preacher and his family ate with us at least once a month. 

My paternal grandparents were older, and passed away first.   By the time I was a teenager, my maternal grandparents had health issues and needed someone with them more often, and that someone was usually me, because I could cook, clean, do their laundry, and help more with their specific needs.   In the summertime, I slept upstairs in the small bedroom, and in the winter I slept on the hideabed in the living room.   I caught my regular bus in front of their house and got to wave at my mom when the bus stopped at my house to pick up my brothers.  

To this day, if I have trouble going to sleep, I close my eyes and think back to lying on the bed upstairs on a hot summer, moonlit night, staring out the window and waiting for a cool breeze to blow thru.   It was not unusual to see wildlife scurrying across the back yard that extended to the big pine trees where we played in the shade.   Owls would be hooting in the background, and on very clear, quiet nights I could hear a train whistle.   These thoughts are very soothing and always help me fall asleep.     

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@RedTop~You are a wonderful descriptive writer and I really enjoyed reading your experience with your grandparents