After marrying and our children were added to our family, I always heard the saying, "Just wait until those grandchildren come". I thought people were nuts, because all I could think about was getting mine grown. Well, as always with old sayings, I found this saying to be true, but this post is not about my grandchildren although I believe I could write pages if I had the time. This time I would like to tell you about my grandmother. A woman that has lived long enough to see the 5th generation.
Lillian, as her friends and family know her, is my ma maw. Being so young the first time I saw her, she was quite blurred. Later she would come into full focus. I wish I could write a novel about her, but sadly I don't know all I would like to know about her, but I will try to tell you what I do know.
She was raised in the Mississippi delta. If you have never been there, it is quite the dreary place in the winter. The farm land stretches for miles and is almost void of trees except for the occasional bayou along the way. In the early 1900's it was a tough place to make a living. Many folk there were sharecroppers working on the land owned by others and sharing in the harvest to support their families. It was hard and it was hot.
There, is where my grandmother met and married my grandfather. There, is where she birthed and raised 5 boys. She helped work the farm and cooked and cleaned for the seven of them.
My first remembrance of her was at the age of 4 or 5. She and papaw lived near us at that time. The first gift they gave me, at least the one I can remember, was a puppy. She was named princess and stayed with us for several years. As you can tell I have never forgotten her.
Ma maw was then and still is a woman of small stature. Her height may be 4'8" , but she stands taller than her physical size. She became an LPN(Licensed Practical Nurse). She worked in the hospital setting as well as for a family dr. Her's was the last face I saw in the hall when I went into surgery for my tonsils to be removed. She was the one to tell me to drop my drawers to see how bad I had chicken pox. (that may be more than you want to know) She could cook the best biscuits in the world. You know the kind. They were made with Lard and cooked in an iron skillet in the oven. I long for that taste again.
As I grew older, distance and responsibilities got in the way of taking time to see her, but when I did she always welcomed me with a big hug.
Ma maw now is in her 90's and time has not been so good to her. Her memory is not good anymore. She cannot recall my name even though she says she knows me. We have lost her mind and her memories. Those things she never told us will never be told. The things, places and people she once knew will never be known again. One day, maybe not today or tomorrow, but much too soon, she will leave us. She will leave us with regrets. Regrets that we didn't take, no, make time to be near her when we could have. Regrets that we didn't get those memories out of her mind and into ours to carry and pass on to future generations.
I don't know all I wish I did, but I know enough. It is enough to know her and to love her.
