Just like most people (I think), there were things that I said & did that I wish I could take back now. I wish I hadn't pushed 'ignore' when Mamaw called me & I was busy. Although I saw her every time I went to Mama's, now that she's gone, I don't think that wasn't enough. I wish I hadn't gotten so short with her when she asked question, after question, after question, after question!!! But, I can't beat myself up about it now. What's done is done & I know she loved all of us regardless!!! She loved us so much. She taxied me, Kristina, James, Brett & Bailee around more than once. Ballet, cheer, baseball, football...she was our personal chauffer to all of our practices, until our parents got home from work. She wasn't a typical grandmother in some ways (she was a character!!), but if we needed anything & she had the means, she gave it to us.
I stayed with her during the day before I started kindergarten. She made me scrambled eggs in the microwave (sounds gross but they were so yummy!) & we watched 'The Price is Right' every morning at 10:00. I guess that's where I get my game show obsession from?? Every now & then we would walk downtown to Peachtree Bank & put some quarters in my savings account....but we had to be back to her house in time for 'Days of Our Lives'! This is SO gross, but I use to beg her to take out her dentures & let me brush them?!?!? Whyyyyyyyyyyy did I do that????
Mamaw was an emotional little thing! She cried about everything! My Mama does, too...and so do I! Mamaw wasn't afraid to tell you what was on her mind, either! For example, I had been in Troy a couple years & the fast food that I had been eating had caught up with me. I tried on my Easter dress for Mamaw & instead of telling me how pretty I looked, she said, 'Well you haven't missed a meal have you?!?!.' She was a MESS! If you did something to one of her kids or grand kids & she made up her mind that she didn't like you, that was IT! You could not get back in her good graces! She drove a green stick shift pick-up truck. My cousins & I named it 'The Green Turtle' and you could hear it coming from a mile away! I don't know if it was missing a muffler or what? It was loud! She could never get our names right. If she was looking at me but called me Kristina or Bailee, I just did what she said because I knew what she meant. Sharon, Sheila & Shelene...all those 'S' names got her every time! She LOVED Alabama football & reminded me of it every time Alabama won, especially the Iron Bowl. She always yelled, 'Touchdown Alabamaaaaaa!' & threw her hand in the air. She was tickled to death when she got this Alabama bedspread for Christmas a couple years ago...
Mamaw was a great Mamaw & I assume she was a good parent, too! Look at her kids!! She & Dadene raised a group of tough, strong willed, bossy, head-strong kids. Dadene was the absolute love of her life. Her parents owned the cafe in Maplesville, where she worked while she was still in high school. Dadene was from FL & somehow made his way through Maplesville. He stopped at her parents' cafe to buy cigarettes & the rest was history! Her parents didn't like him because he was 10 years older than Mamaw & he already had a child. She graduated in May of 1953, turned 18 October 6, 1953 & they ran off to FL to elope on October 13, 1953 (also mine & Hunter's anniversary). She told me her parents were furious when they found out, but they eventually got over it. She loved Dadene to death, and vice versa. I mean, he even clipped her toenails for her! When he was at UAB for 4 months before he died, she didn't leave him to go home not one time! After he died, she always told me that if she got sick, not to drag it out, just let her 'go be with Jim.' That is what we did.
Mama, Sheen, Aunt Sheila & Uncle Mal are going to Maryland this weekend to see Dadene's only living sister, Aunt Mary, for the first time in years. I'm jealous! Mamaw would have loved to have gone. Tomorrow, August 27, is a year ago that she had her stroke & Friday, August 30, is the year anniversary of her passing. Since Mama & the rest of the family will be gone, I picked up an extra shift at work on Friday so I won't sit at home & dwell on it all day. As easy as it is to cry about how much we miss her & what all she'll miss in our lives, I'm going to try to smile this weekend...I know she's smiling now.
No comments:
Post a Comment