Memories of the People Who Make You.......

So they say time is fleeting, well heck yes it is!
The funny things - as you get older you remember the small simple things that made you who you are. My Grandparents, both sets were so different and both sets of Grandparents did so much to make me the person I am today. I have to believe that with out all of them I would not be living today. I was a wild one in my youth. I was a rebellious teenager, full of hate for the world and the feeling of invincibility. (why I became that way is a story for another time )

But before I became that rebel of a girl, I spent many summers visiting with my Grandparents in Alabama. At that time you could say I was a sweet little girl. My Grandfather was a simple sweet gentle man, full of the love of God. Most would say he was a dedicated, honest, hard working man. He was my granddaddy! I love visiting my Grandparents, and loved helping Grandfather outside. When I visit their old home I just love the shed, it looks scary but I know it is filled with love - the love my Grandfather had for his garden. My Grandparents grew most if not all of their vegetables. How delicious the corn, peas, butter beans, oooh and the tomatoes. I miss Grandmother standing in the small kitchen, watching her peel the tomatos for dinner. She would peel it with an old silver pairing knife and then slice thick slices for us all. There will never be a tomato as sweet as those!!

I love my Grandmother's voice, she would sing while doing dishes in the kitchen - it was a pleasure for her to clean up the dishes after she filled all our stomachs with her wonderful southern home cooking. She would let me help her and smile down at me, and I feeling proud to be a big girl. After dinner we would sit on the porch swing and listen to the crickets. That swing has shared love with so many family and friends over the years.

And when it was time to go to bed, Granddaddy would lay with us children under the big black fan in the back room and read stories to us. I remember he loved to read to us children, and my favorite story was 'Are You My Mother' by Dr Seuss. This man quiet and shy, could read a simple story and put so much love and life into it. He loved the whole world, without question. Both Grandmother and Granddaddy, love without bounds, without ultimatums without conditions. Their life lessons and love saved me!!

Thank you both for being their for me, for loving me and for showing me how to give love unconditionally!