I was blessed with a wonderful
Grandma that always had a smile
on her face and more patience then I have ever known
anyone to
have. She had a somewhat stocky frame and a short
stature.
My Grandma was the Mother of fifteen children and
had untold grandchildren.
I loved going to her house because she lived in the
country and had
chickens scattered everywhere. One of my favorite things
was going
into the hen house and gathering freshly laid eggs .
My folks used to drive the one and one half hour drive
to Grandma's
house approximately every two months and we were always
warmly
greeted by her and several of the Aunt's, Uncles and
cousins who
lived nearby in the Newport, Pa. area.
Grandma would prepare a meal for everyone on an
old-fashioned
cook stove and in the Fall and Winter months, the scent
of the
wood burning in the stove and the delicious smells
emanating
from her cooking were enough to make even a young girl
like
me, want to stay forever.
As a Mother, she would always make sure her husband and
children
were fed first and whatever was left over, that is what
she would
eat. It was Grandma's loving nature to always put
everyone's
needs before her own needs were met. I can still see her
standing
away from the table, beside the cook stove, watchfully
making sure
everyone had enough food. She always had a long apron
that went
over her head like a collar and extended the length of
her dress.
In the summer time, Grandma would let me play outdoors
and run
all around inside the big barn that was starting to sag
in places
from age and not enough money for repairs. Oh how I
loved that
farm and surrounding areas. One never ran out of ideas
to play
"pretend" at her home.
I was her only Step-Grandchild, but she never treated me
any
different from all the other children. As I aged and
later married,
I used to send her a bouquet of flowers every Valentines
Day,
just to let her know I dearly loved her. I was told by
her youngest
Daughter that she would look forward to "her bouquet"
every
February and I received pictures of her smiling, with
her
flowers by her side.
Grandma is with Jesus now and I am grateful that I was
blessed
with such a wonderful lady to love and I will cherish
her
memory for as long as I live.
