Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Grandma

Today would have been my paternal grandmother's 90th birthday, except that Saturday was the one-year anniversary of her death. Which means that one year ago today, I was back in my old hometown with my parents and brother and all of my aunts and uncles and cousins trying not to think about the fact that it was Grandma's birthday and we were about to bury her. I think today may have been the day my brother and I drove around town looking at all of our old houses (we moved a lot) but I really can't remember. I don't remember much about the funeral, which was one year ago tomorrow, either. I think I was just a little numb.

One thing I do remember about that trip was going to my aunt's house after the service and helping my dad sort through boxes and boxes of old photos that had belonged to my grandmother. Grandma was big on photos of family; she brought out the photo albums whenever we went back for a visit and I never got tired of looking at them with her and listening to her recollection of the details of each photo. I wish now that I had taken notes, or recorded her, or something like that.

But these were photos that I had never seen before. Many of them were of my grandma and her siblings, or her parents, or other family members long gone. Some of them were of Grandma when she was younger.

I don't know much about my grandma's early years. I know that she and Grandpa grew up on the same street, and that she worked in a factory during World War II, and that she gave birth to my father while Grandpa was off in Europe fighting the Germans. I guess I knew that she had been a young girl once upon a time, but until I saw the photos, it never really hit me.




She never talked about herself. When we called or visited, she'd talk about what other family members were up to. Now that she's gone I sometimes wish I had asked her more about herself, about what she liked to do when she was a girl -- did she read? Draw? Dance? What were her hopes and dreams? But I suspect that even if I had asked her all these things, my questions would have been kindly and subtly deflected. She'd turn the conversation back to me somehow, to what I liked and what I did. Then she'd offer me an RC Cola and an ice cream sandwich, and I'd forget what we had been talking about.

By the time I had arrived on the scene, she'd settled into a happy rhythm as a wife and mother. She took care of her husband and her children and her house. She was modest and kind and gentle and sweet. She managed to be quiet and lively at the same time. There was a calmness to her, a steadiness, and yet a thrum of energy. She created beauty and love wherever she went. And, I suspect, she was stronger than any of us ever knew.

She was the heart of our family.


I miss her every day.

9 comments:

  1. Great tribute Kathy- that was beautifully written!

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  2. Lovely.

    We buried my maternal grandmother 30 years ago on St Patrick's Day, and I still miss her. She would be 105 years old.

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  3. Lovely, Kath. She was stunningly beautiful, both inside and out. And if she saw this today, she would marvel at how you were able to "do all that". You're right, her favorite subject to talk about was each and every one of us. And yet, she was the most interesting person I've ever known. I carry her with me every minute of every day.

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  4. I, too, had an awesome grandma. Before she married she made hats for Fanny Brice! ('Funny Girl') She was lovely and loving and made me feel special in my family of 7 kids. She's been gone for 25 years and I think of her all the time. Thanks for making me think of her again.

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  5. What a lovely tribute to a charming woman. She was just beautiful, wasn't she? Grandmas are so special. They don't even have to do anything, just be.

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  6. That is a beautiful tribute. I think it is the nature of things that we tend to take our grandparents' and maybe even our parents' interest in us for granted without thinking to find out more about them before it's too late. I suppose our kids will have our blogs to peruse though!

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  7. I too was extrmely fond of and close to my grandma (and grandpa!), my maternal side here in town whereas my paternal side grandma was in NY. Ironically both grandmas died the same year, 2 months away from eachother but I was SO lucky to have been in NY shortly before she passed and then came back here.
    They were 90 (NY) and 91 (here) but it doesn't matter if they were 879 ... it's a DARK, SAD, SICKENING day when grandmothers leave us.
    May they all rest in peace for all the beauty, laughter, wonderful things they gave us.

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  8. The heart of the family. I know exactly what you mean. Sending you my love.

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  9. So, so beautiful. I think about my grandma all the time and she died over twenty years ago. This is a lovely tribute to yours.

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