On February 9, 1977, I came home from work, ate dinner, and walked over to my grandmother's house to spend some time with her. That was a life long walk. From my house to my grandmother's. We lived next door to one another for so many years of my life.
She kept me everyday as a small child while my mom worked. She took me all over the world, my world, the Mississippi delta was our distant land. My days involved playing by myself, making my own imaginative world, running in and out of the house, barefoot and busy.
Mamaw spent her days making home..home. She cooked three meals a day. She fed the chickens, worked in her large garden and sometimes we would go into town. Her red 1949 Ford Fairlane sedan was always ready for the trip and she prepared me as well.
If you left the house for town you needed a scarf wrapped securely under you chin, Jergen"s lotion on your cheeks and coat buttoned up to the scarf. If it was cold you had pants on under your skirt. She detailed herself the same. Sitting in the front seat was just fine then. No air conditioning, so windows were rolled down for air on the hot days.
Making days interesting was not a pursuit, days were for just being busy. That could include gathering eggs, shelling beans, canning fruit from the orchard, sometimes in the winter...killing chickens or maybe a pig. Life just was what it was... a daily work to make sure the future didn't catch your dinner table empty.
Christmas brought new excitement as she made big plans about her gifts for all of her granddaughters. My favorite was the year she bought "Barbie" wardrobe cases for each of us and filled them with clothes she made herself, buying a little bag of shoes and tiny snaps, buttons and elastic. All of us were given a box complete with dresses, some with sequins across the front. The best part was watching her pick out the fabric and cut each one. Her projects were very much a part of her life. The sewing machine sat right in the middle of the living room.
When there was a dress needed, or even if there wasn't a need, she started pulling patterns and checking out fabric. You got a quick measurement and then she was on her way. Some of those clothes still lie in my cedar chest. One has been worn by my granddaughter. Her great, great.
There are times in your life when just everyday life takes on new meaning. An evening jaunt across the driveway could have been common place but the depth of the time was unimaginable. That evening, 2/9/1977, I was soon to move away, to the Gulf Coast. I was six months pregnant with my first child. This evening I knew my chances to sit and talk were coming to a close very soon. So we sat and chatted, she in her straight chair, me in the large upholstered. She just encouraged me in ways that were not specific,"You'll know what to do when the time comes. Don't get all upset over every little thing." A woman of few words giving a girl with many a small pep talk about parenting. No examples. No funny stories, just words, given softly and sweetly.
Little did we know that the next day would change everything. A call came to me at work, she had fallen...she was feeding the dog and fell down the steps.
Rushing the ten miles home, my dad and I found her sitting in a chair in the front yard. Nitroglycerin pills in hand. Pain all over her face. An ambulance came, a hip was replaced and I left her side at the hospital that night to pack up my house for the move. She told me she loved me, I told her back and she shooed me on my way. It was the perfect way to say good bye. I am so thankful for that. One move in the wrong direction and she was gone.
When you remember a life well lived, an ordinary day, a memorable conversation, it's like a depth that is hard to fathom, but the truth is that you feel it keenly because it can be a large portion of who you are. I just know that we are the sum of all the parts and many of my parts are stamped with the initials E S M D. I hope someday my grandchildren will say the same... PLTP.
"Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed.....
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord,
she shall be praised."
Proverbs 31:25-28a, 30
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