Flashback with Grandparents and On The Road...

Why don’t you join in the fun, hop on over to Mocha with Linda. She has the prompt listed on her site. And after you write your flashback remember to link up so we can all enjoy it. It is a great way to learn more about people and meet some wonderful blogging buddies!

This week we are remembering our grandparents and our extended family. We definitely do not have enough space for me to talk about all of them. My mom had 2 brothers and 6 sisters, only one sister is still living. We were always around some of her family, my dad’s not so much. He had 3 sisters and we only seen them once a year when we went to Arkansas for two weeks.
I was never lucky enough to meet either one of my grandpas. However, I did have a step grandpa, Dolan, which was the best! He always took very good care of my grandma; she was 20 years older than him. (Yes that is not a typing error!) lol. When we would visit I was his shadow. He took me everywhere, we gathered eggs, fed the pigs, milked the cow, well he put me up in the corn crib so I could watch and not get stepped on. He was a lot of fun, and he always had peppermint sticks in the back cupboard for his collie dog and me to share! The thing I remember about my grandma is she always wore a bib apron, pretty ones that she had made years before. She was born in 1890, so she was 67 when I was born. Another thing I remember is she dipped snuff and the juice sometimes would trickle down her chin and she would wipe it off with her apron. Thank God she was not in the kitchen cooking. lol. Dolan had to keep a close eye on her; she did not always know what she was doing. She had a habit of using money to wipe her mouth off then throw it in her spit can. So I give Dolan a lot of credit, he loved her and took care of her to the very end. I was 11 when Grandma passed away.

My mom’s mom was Granny. She did not live with us but did live in Illinois with her youngest daughter and their family, so I got to visit with her quite a bit. I remember her as being a very quiet, loving woman. I always thought she was very pretty, you could really see the Indian in our heritage through her. She also wore a bib apron most of the time. I was always hesitant about getting in her lap. She loved mice, and had a couple of white ones. I hated mice! She would let them just crawl all over her, in her apron pockets, down in the front of her apron or dress. So I always made sure the mice were in their cage before I would get in her lap. Granny was born in 1895 and passed away in 1963. I was 6 years old.

As far as aunts and uncles, the only time I seen a lot of them were when we took our annual 2-week trip to Arkansas in the summer. Three of my mom’s sisters also lived in Illinois raising their families there. We saw them a lot. There were always weekend camping trips with the families. We would gather around in a circle and have a big bonfire. There were usually 6 – 7 campers rounded up. Thinking back now we probably looked like a bunch of traveling gypsies. I have a lot of good memories of those times.

My mom had a brother Covie that was pretty special. When I moved to Arkansas in 1979 I moved in with his family. I think he deserves a post of his own. So I will talk about Uncle Covie at a later time.

I have 3 cousins that I have always been very close with. Kathy who is Uncle Covie’s daughter, is like my sister. We have a special bond that no one or any distance can break. We are not only cousins, we are best friends, and the sister neither one of us ever had. It is the kind of relationship that even if we have not talked in a couple months, we could pick up the phone and continue on as if no time had passed.

I grew up with my cousins Debi and Cheryl. We were always were together growing up. Spent a lot of time together, we laughed together and cried together. We have a lot of good memories. Their mom is my mom’s youngest sister. She is the one that is still living. A very special aunt that we make sure we see every trip to Arkansas. She is amazing. She is 85 years old. She still lives by herself, still drives and is still sharp as a tack. Every trip we make I try to take some of mom’s old pictures that I do not know and see if she knows who they are. And usually she does, she makes sure we write the names on the back. She is quite a character!

Well I think that is enough flashbacks for today; I could go on and on. I could tell you about Aunt Mildred. If we were going to her house we knew that loose tooth would come out. Her nickname was the dentist!

Enough memories… I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Remember us in prayer. We are making another trip to Nebraska. My sister in law Kathy is having a birthday, she has cancer. So we thought we would surprise her. We are leaving early in the morning, so I will say I am sorry for not commenting on anyone's flashback. I will read them when I get home. Have a great weekend!

until next time… nel