Family Tradition

I was sitting at the kitchen table, a plate of pickles sat before me with creme cheese and Alvin and the Chipmunks were singing in the background.  Only this time, I wasn't the child.  I was the mom.  Weird. 

Ask anyone, my mom was awesome at making pickle wraps. Yum, yum, yum.  She used to make them before our big family Thanksgivings and Christmases at the Scottish Rite.  I loved "helping" her as a kid.  I would eat the peices of meat she let me have basically. 

So today, Megan climbs up in the chair next to me.  She took over my job.  I had to be the responsible one, not just the cute little meat eating kid.  What. The. Heck.  She was sweet though.  She had no idea that I was sitting there smiling at her and thinking about my mom and I doing the very same thing 15+ years ago. 

I will never forget the memories I share with my mom.  We would do all this stuff, pickle wraps, molasses cookies, set up, etc. for these family holidays.  And then I got to thinking about my Grandma Franks.

Megan points to the pictures on top of the doll cabinet. "Mommy's a baby!"
"Who else is up there Meg?"
"Megan!.... Sissy!"
"Who else Meg?"
"I don't know"
"Well Meggie, that's Aunt Candy, and Uncle Fred, and that's Grandpa Franks.  And see them?  That's Grandma and Grandpa Franks!"
"OH!"
"Did you know today was Grandma Franks' birthday?"
"yeah."
"Oh you did?  How old would she be?"
"Uh.... giggle I don't know."
"She would've been 103!"
"Oh!"

That's right my grandma would've been 103 if she were still alive.  It's so strange to think about her being that old.  So much time has passed. My children will never know these people that I grew up knowing. 

I started thinking of the time Mom and I were sitting in the backseat of the Jeep at Unlce Joe's house on Mother's Day one year.  It was whenever those little birthstone necklaces with the little kids on them were popular.  I had the smallest hands so I was back there stringing them on for Grandma's mother's day present.  I think I remember being annoyed because I was busy playing.

But, you know what?  I realized my kids have some pretty special things going for them.  I get to wrap Megan up in a blanket Grandma Franks crocheted for me.  Megan has this blanket that her great, great, great grandmother made.  She'll never meet her but a lot of kids don't even have these things that have been saved over the years. 

Of course I can tell her and Bay stories about my family.  Like the time Pop and I were over at Uncle Joe's (I don't care if he doesn't go by that anymore, for years I edured Onery Anne, he can deal with Joe)  But, I love him.  I really do.  Mom had such a good family.  Anyway Pop and I were over there with Grandma Franks and we made lunch, some soup.  We could not find a serving spoon to save our life.  Well, we could it was just one with holes in it.  And we made soup.  And the Annie-Tom kitchen mishaps began that day!  We all got a good laugh later.

And then there are the stories I heard Pop tell.  Now, he wasn't very detailed, but I knew that after him and Mom got married, Grandma wasn't his biggest fan.  And wasn't for a very long time.  But somewhere along the line things were smoothed out.  I don't know really, things like that were kept from me.  It's okay.  What I do know is I couldn't tell there was ever a disagreement between the two.  I remember when Grandma had her stroke on 12-20-1998 Pop and I visited her in the hospital everyday up until the day she passed away.  She would try to speak to him but she wasn't able to be understood.  I can still remember my dad telling her he knew how frustrating it was because she knew she was speaking clearly.  He had a stroke in 1980 so knew exactly was she was going through.  But there was compassion.  I saw that he cared deeply about her regardless of anything that had happened over the years.  I want to be able to do that.  I know people critize my dad, but he was a wonderful man, he really was.

Man, let me tell you.  My Grandma, she was pretty cool.  Pop used to tell me stories about her spitting off the porch back in Arkansas.  And her and I got to share socks!  When I was a kid I got a whole package because they were too big for her I think.  I'd sit between her and Mom or Aunt Betty during Sunday evenening church and color.  I've even got a picture of her and Grandpa Franks in my wallet.  Becuase of all these stories and little things in our house my kids will know who their great great great grandma was and I'm glad. 

Megan will go to sleep and I'll cover her up with that old blanket and just smile.  She's got a hertiage.  It may not be exotic or fancy like her dad's but it's a hertiage, with lots of love, and really good looking women.  No but seriously, my cousins, all gorgeous.

Anywho... happy birthday Grandma Franks, and Merry Christmas to everyone else!