Grandma

When I was growing up my maternal Grandma was a huge part of my life. We lived just two blocks away from her and we would go there often. My mother is currently working on a biography of my Grandma. As a favor to my Mom I sat down the other day and typed up some of the fun memories I have. Here are just a few of the good memories I have:

Sleepovers

When my sisters and I were young our favorite thing to do was to sleep over at Grandma’s house.  We enjoyed taking turns sleeping with different aunts or sometimes we even got to sleep with Grandma on her huge bed.  The only downside to sleeping in the bed with Grandma is that she had feather pillows which would poke us in the face during the night.  Grandma would also always watch the 10 o’clock news before going to bed.  She was especially interested in the weather report.  

Robbers

Occasionally when we were sleeping over at Grandma’s house we would get scared that robbers were going to come and snatch us during the night.  But Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Jason would always tell us that in Grandma’s patriarchal blessing it said that robbers would never visit her home.  We felt safe and secure with that promise.

Grandma’s Curlers

Grandma used curlers to curl her hair everyday.  I remember her getting out of the shower, grabbing her curler bag, and sitting down under her portable hair dryer.  Trying to talk to Grandma while she was under her hair dryer was impossible.  I suppose she used that as her excuse to get some quite time.  

Daisy
Daisy was Grandma’s silly, spoiled dog.  She would go everywhere with us.  In her older age she got so fat that she couldn’t climb up onto Grandma’s bed anymore.  So, grandma would always bend down and pick daisy up and put her on the bed.  She really was one of the family.

Halloween
Halloween was a favorite holiday because of Grandma’s dress-up box.  Over the years old clothes, hats, and costumes found there way into the dress-up box.  On Halloween, we would go over to Grandma’s and pick our favorite outfit to wear.  I will never forget the year the aunts let me use their makeup and I dressed up as a gypsy.

Grocery Trips - Bananas and Yogurt
Grandma loved going grocery shopping.  Whenever she would say she was going out to get a few groceries, we always knew it would take her at least two hours.  She would always shop at the old Albertson’s on Center Street in Orem.  All the employees knew her and would stop and chat with her while she was doing her shopping.  Without fail Grandma would always bring home boxes of Yoplait yogurt and several bunches of bananas.  That was grandma stand-by snack for anyone that ever came to visit.  It was a privilege to be able to go grocery shopping with Grandma.  She would always buy something extra special for you.  Grandma also used to talk to herself.  Especially when she was driving in the car.  I always wondered why she would talk to herself and I still wonder.

Easter

Easter was a fun holiday at Grandma’s.  Every year she would pull out her large box of construction paper and we would proceed to make Easter baskets.  The goal was to make your Easter basket as different and unique as possible.  One year Uncle Jason even made a toilet seat.  Grandma always loved our creative ideas.  The Easter bunny always filled them with candy on Easter morning.  We also used to decorate hard boiled eggs and then have races rolling them down the hill in the backyard.  

Grandma’s Stuffing
The night before Thanksgiving, Grandma would always be up all night long preparing the food.  One night I was determined to stay up as long as I could to help her.  She would always make her homemade stuffing.  The part that I remember most is ripping the bread into small pieces, cutting the celery, and chopping onions.  Grandma was a master at chopping onions.  I always wondered how she managed not to cry from the strong smell of the onions.

The Wheelchair Ramp

At Grandma’s house there was a wheelchair ramp up to the front door.  Over the years we played on that ramp a lot.  We would take dominoes and make different designs that went all the way down the ramp.  We would play for hours and hours.  We would also send marbles down the ramp and bouncy balls.  When we got older, we laced up our roller skates and blades and go whizzing down the ramp.  When some of the cousins were babies, we found it very convenient to push the strollers up the ramp and into the house.  When giving people directions, it was always convenient to tell them Grandma lived at the house that had the wheelchair ramp.