I was thinking the other day ( I know that surprises some of
you!) about how cool memories are and how smells, object and certain activities
connects us to the past and loved ones that have gone on. There are certain
things that remind me of each of my grandparents.... The smell of
breakfast.....biscuits, gravy, bacon, sausage and eggs always reminds me of my
grandma Beulah, You never walked into her house without that smell and no
matter what time you got to their house, there were always biscuits and a few
pieces of meat sitting on a plate on top of her stove. She always claimed it
was just leftover from hers and grandpa’s breakfast but we all knew that she
made extra because the kids would drift in and out to visit especially on
weekends.
I can't see a squirrel without thinking of my Grandpa Guy …he
loved to go squirrel hunting and some of my fondest memories of him were early mornings
walking to catch the school bus. He would park about half way down our little
tree covered road and sit on the tailgate of his truck and wait for the
squirrels to start moving. I would see him and he would wave and say in a whisper
morning jo jo…are you headed to school? And I’d always say “yes…. have you seen
any this morning papaw?” and he would usually say “not yet but I think there’s
a couple nice young ones moving around over there.” I would stand there by him
for a minute or so and watch the tree tops with him and then he would say “you
better not miss the bus.” and I would say bye and walk on to the bus.
I always think of my grandpa Claude when I see Tomatoes in
the garden. He always had a garden every year, both grandpas did actually but
Claude loved his tomatoes and in my mind his whole back yard was filled with
Tomato plants…he always had Early girl, Big Boy and Better Boy tomatoes. As a
matter of fact (or maybe I should say Mater of fact) one of the last things I
did for him was pull up his tomato plants from his garden the fall that he
passed away. It is hard to see Tomatoes without thinking of him.
When I see Iris’s,
Sassafras, broom sedge or Dewberries I always think of grandma Tain. She would
come spend a few weeks every year with us at our house and we would go on walks
together down the road or in the woods. She would point out these plants and
tell me what they were and what you use them for and sometimes we would pick the
berries or dig some rootsto take home. The first sassafras tea I ever drank was
from some roots that we dug together. She would tell me how they would drink it
in the early spring to thin their blood out after the Winter…..(I think more
people need their blood thinned out these days!) I also remember picking “blackberries”
and she informed me that these were really Dewberries because they were ripe
earlier and they grew along the ground instead of on the taller bushy vines.
She claimed they were sweeter and had a better flavor than regular Blackberries…..I
think she was right….just because she said so!
These are just a few of those things that make me who I am
and helps keep those special people close to me every day. What kind of
memories are you going to leave for your friends and family……something to think
about!
