My Heritage

I spend a lot of afternoons sewing and watching a couple of episodes of The Waltons. I really enjoy the portrayal of family in that show. I've often wondered what it would have been like to grow up with my grandparents living in the same house. My maternal grandparents were Swedish. Both of their mothers came to the US from Sweden when they were young girls. My maternal grandmother died when I was only 2 1/2. I've always wished I knew her. I have a few of her quilting things. Some fabric, unfinished blocks and cardboard templates.

Sometimes I take them out and wonder about the hands that made them. I hope she'd be pleased that I quilt like she did.

My maternal grandpa passed away when I was in college. (I wrote more about him in this post.)

Even though I am only 2 1/2 in this picture, this is exactly how I remembered my grandpa looking even years later. This was taken at the first Christmas after my grandma died. I think Grandpa looks sad.

Me, my Swedish grandpa, and my brother.

I still have some birthday cards my grandpa sent me. He had a spectacular signature.

My paternal grandparents were a big part of my life. They would come to visit often and I would spend a week or so in the summer time with them. I have great memories of those times. They would let me eat sliced tomatoes with sugar (sounds icky to me now). I remember watching The Floppy Show while I ate lunch. I was allowed to eat on a TV tray on the edge of the linoleum of the kitchen (never on the carpet). They took me to the Iowa State Fair. I went to the county fair with them, ate my grandma's amazing fried chicken and homemade rolls (I wish I would have asked her to teach me how to make both of those).  We sat downtown the evening the stores stayed open late and watched the people go by. I'd be introduced to their friends as their son's baby (and be so embarrassed.) Grandma used to love to put her arm around me or link arms with me as we walked some where. That embarrassed me too. Only now I'd love to feel that soft, old hand in mine.

(Yep, that's me in between my grandparents. I think I am 14 or 15 in that photo.)

My grandparents lived only about 15 miles from where I went to college and I got to see them often. I would clean house for them and they would let me do my laundry for free.

This is at their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Grandma's hair was always so perfect. They were married for over 60 years.

Grandpa died right after I graduated from college and not long before I got married. He was a funny man. He loved to tell jokes and make us grandkids laugh. I miss the smell of whatever it was he put in his hair. Grandpa used to sneak money to us grandkids. He would hand me a quarter, a five dollar bill, a dollar, and whisper, "Don't tell Grandma." (I'm not sure why he thought Grandma shouldn't know. I'm sure she did.) At Grandpa's funeral, my brother stuck a quarter into the pocket of Grandpa's suit coat pocket and whispered, "Don't tell Grandma." Yep. That brought the tears.

Grandma lived to be 96. I'm glad she knew my kids.

Me, Caleb (about 18 months old), Grandma (89) and my dad.

I have sweet memories of the letters she would write to me. Instead of writing a smiley face :) or writing LOL or writing hahahaha, she would often intersperse a ha. That's it. ha. Always a lower case letter and always a period after it. Grandma would call me periodically, even after I was married, and start the conversation with, "What do you know?" When Grandma talked on the phone she would sit with pencil in hand and doodle. They were quite detailed doodles. I loved to look for them when I visited her house. Grandma loved Jesus. She told me once that she was looking forward to being in heaven but was frightened of the process of getting there. I found a letter I had written to her. (If you click on these, you should be able to read them better.)

This side of the letter are the words to the song Another Time, Another Place. It was sung by Sandi Patti.

Even though I was the youngest of eleven grandchildren, I felt like Grandma took time to have a relationship with me even after I married and had my own kids. I miss that about her. I want to learn from her example when someday I am a grandma.