Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Thankful #3

As I was arranging family photos in my new house last night, I came upon one of my grandmother about age 5. I recall her telling the story of having the picture taken. "I was being a brat", she recalled. The photographer stuck a bunch of silk violets in her hand. Her pout shows her unhappiness with the situation. The year was somewhere around 1888 and her mother, a divorced milliner, had taken the time to dress both mother and daughter in their best. Photographs were few and far between and expensive. So to have your daughter act out under those circumstances was provoking to say the least. But, pout and all, I am glad to have to have that photo and to have a glimpse into her young life.
I was brought to tears thinking I wish I had asked more questions about her early life. Quickly, I turned to being grateful for having had her in my life for nearly 90 years. I was fortunate to live near her in my growing up years, to spend the night often at her house, to bake cookies, to dust and vacuum for her, to sit on the porch and shell peas fresh from the garden.
The memories come cascading - the lace table cloth, the place mats, the brown bowl with fruit in it in the center of the table, holiday meals, learning to quilt, apple parties in front of the fire on fall evenings. I see her at the table when it was just the two of us. She had chunky sky blue ceramic mug from which she had her coffee in the morning and her tea at lunch. She drank it English style with milk and sugar.
With me, she was never the terrifying disciplinarian of a mother her children described but then by the time I came along, the ninth of eleven grandchildren, she had relaxed. Her responsibilities were limited to loving and enjoying me.
And, now, with my own grandchildren, I, too, can enjoy them and laugh and tease, make popcorn and crack pistachios without their parents around. We can read stories, have sleepovers, bake cookies and muffins. I can make my buttermilk pancakes for them in the mornings and teach them to sew or garden and be grateful for the role model my own grandmother provided.
Just in case they wish they had asked more questions of me, I am leaving a memoir of all the aspects of my life and I will hope that will be grateful for my having done that.

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