She was slightly round, wore glasses and polyester pants. She always had an apron on when she was cooking and washing up the dishes. She liked to sit and talk on the party line with her two good friends. She liked to watch the CBS Soap Operas every afternoon and not be disturbed. She enjoyed the company of her grandchildren and would feed them homemade chocolate cake that she always kept in the tin cake holder in the corner of the kitchen. She made the best fried chicken you will ever imagine and was known for being a good cook. Her children teased her that when they were growing up and had to save pennies, she could make just about anything out of gravy and always served applesauce at every meal. There was always glasses of Tang, Post Toasties and bacon and eggs for breakfast. On a hot summer day, you could find glass bottles of Pepsi in the fridge and buckets of vegetables that had just been pulled from the garden. She showed her love through her cooking and talking about the past, oh and there were always her good-bye kisses – wet, sloppy ones that she planted square on your mouth. She cared for her husband – even though they bickered at times – and her children and grandchildren. She came from the city and spent her married life on a farm. New surroundings. New rules. I think she learned how to be a farm wife really well. She was a hard worker and her efforts did not go unrewarded.
She was my Grandma Marie Stevens and today is her birthday. She passed away 8 years ago this month. It was hard losing her since she was the first grandparent to die. I loved her then and I love her even more now. Over the past few months, I have learned some new facts about her and it just makes me miss her even more. For example, Grandma had a recipe box and on every recipe she would “grade” her entries. Words like”easy”, “Yummy”, “A+”, “good”, “really good”, “so-so” were on every recipe. I found that to be so cute and endearing that I have thought about doing it myself – something my children could look back on and make them smile. Each one of my grandparents were different and had their own characteristics. A bond was formed with each one, but that bond took on it’s own meaning in accordance to what their personality was. Grandma reminds me of Mrs. Wilson from “Dennis the Menace”. Willing to bake cookies for you, have a nice chat with you, but ready to send you on your way just before you wore out your welcome(or got in trouble by your Dad for visiting too long and not getting your chores done at the barn!-believe me my sister and I both experienced that many times!!). She was great. A true gift. The sad thing is that I’m not sure she knew how much she was appreciated while she was here. I hope she did. God Bless Grandma.
