Saturday, April 25, 2009
Happy Birthday, Grammie!
Today is my Grammie's 79th birthday. It's a beautiful day, and although I can't be there, my extended family is hosting a supper for her - at her house.
My grandmother is so intriguing to me. She's simultaneously incredibly modern and very old fashioned. She has so many interesting stories but sometimes is unable to listen to others. She is the only 79 year old I know who owns a pair of rollerblades, and hasn't visited a doctor since her last child was born in 1965!
This photo is one of my favourites - taken back in December 2005 when BananaMuffin was just a tiny baby. My grandmother raised five children and two grandchildren, along with a mentally handicapped son who still lives with her. Her parenting days started in 1947 and have not ended. I can't imagine how overwhelmed and tired she must have been at times - raising children is not easy, but well into the 1980s my grandmother still milked the cows, baked her own bread and churned her own butter.
Grammie is the matriarch of the family, her house is the meeting place to which we all convene for special occasions - Christmas, Easter, birthdays, weddings, funerals, births. We have all celebrated and cried in her house. When I was a kid, our gatherings would always include a piano, a fiddle, two guitars, and those of us (me) without much musical talent would be handed a pair of spoons.
I don't get to visit her as often as I would like, she delights in watching BananaMuffin and Spunky grow, talking about how smart kids are today, how big they're getting, and how wonderful it is to see another generation move ahead.
I wish I could be there, and I know she won't see this post, as she doesn't know what a blog is let alone own a computer, but Happy 79th Birthday, Grammie. Your energy, stamina and good health are an inspiration to me.
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