Last Friday, my two sisters and our dear old mom went out for lunch to celebrate Mom's 71st birthday. We met at Panera Bread in Cedar Rapids. We were there over two hours, contentedly conversing, laughing, and--of course!--eating. (I had chicken-rice soup in a bread bowl; unique, fun, yummy!)
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Can you tell which hand washes dishes with Palmolive? The 71-year-old hand......the 50-year-old......the 47-year-old......or the 42-year-old?? Madge would know, you know. (Am I dating myself?)
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Sis gave Mom one of those vibrating massagers........it was even equipped with lights!
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Reminiscing dominated the conversation. Some of you may have read my earlier rants about being brought up with End-Times beliefs.......similarly, my sister who is close in age to me recalls those days with little fondness. She said that when she was a kid she was worried sick over whether or not she would have the strength to resist having "666"(the mark of the beast) tattooed on her forehead. She knew if she was a true Christian, she would have to resist or go to hell, but resisting would mean dying. So......yes, I'm not kidding that those kinds of teachings are difficult for kids to deal with. Thankfully, we are now able to laugh over these old fears.*
On the way to the birthday gathering, I stopped to pick up my youngest sister and saw that one of her jack-o-lanterns was "behind bars" for some post-Halloween misdemeanor.......perhaps for refusing to STOP the silly toothless grinning!
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While we were together, Mom gave each of us girls a very special memento........she had found three Halloween greeting cards addressed to us girls from her dad, our grandfather, who died on Halloween Day of 1967. He must have written out the cards in the days preceding that. Here's what Grampy wrote to me in his own penciled handwriting: Honey bunch, I am getting so I don't write too good a hand. Your writing is better than mine. Words can hardly describe my deep love and affection for you. Someday I hope to see you long enough for a quick hug and kiss. Lots of Love and God Bless you all. Love, Grandpa. (I do recall that my parents did not take us kids to visit Grampy in those last few weeks of his illness......probably, that was mostly my father's decision......he had little time for my mother's family. My parents divorced, very non-amicably, fourteen years ago. Mom must have hidden the cards away in a safe place, thankfully.) Somewhere in my cluttered house, I also have a hand-written Christmas letter from Grampy to me, dating from the early 1960's.
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I was nine when Grampy died, and was old enough to have many fond memories of him. My sister who was six in 1967 remembers a few things. Our sister who was only 1-1/2 at that time has no recollection of him, of course. She was VERY moved to receive her Halloween card which included a personal note from Grampy to her!
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Lastly.......and leastly.......this was how the cornstalk bales appeared for awhile on Friday morning, with the etching of snow:
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Have a wonderful day!
*Have a wonderful day!
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12 comments:
Warm and funny (at the same time) post, Jeannelle!
You have one typo: momento should be memento....
Since you enlarged and emboldened the type, the black-on-brown is fine.
The jack-o'lantern behind bars is extremely clever.
I don't ever remember giving or receiving a Halloween card. I guess I don't win the Hallmark's Best Customer award.
How moving to receive a long-delayed note from your grandfather. That will be a treasure for you to keep. I never knew either of my grandfathers. They both died long before I was born.
I love the imprisoned Jack O'Lantern!
"Happy Birthday" mom;)
How sweet and thoughtful that your mother saved the Halloween cards for you girls. What a treasure that is! I'm happy that you had a good day and a fun visit with your mom on her birthday.
Love the hands picture. You are a creative lady.
Lovely post Jeannelle. I go by Panera's quite often. It's the part of CR that I traverse in most often. Quite near to my usual shopping area and my Church. I love the idea that your Mom gave you the cards. What a lovely memento that is! Your posts get better and better all the time. You're developing into a real writing talent there!
I went to college in Cedar Rapids, but there was no Panera's then. Just Quaker Oats and the Hamburger Inn (about which, the less said the better).
I'm my family's genealogist and archivist, so your card from your grandfather just knocked me over. How moving. What a treasure. Thanks so much for sharing the story.
rhymsie,
Thank you for pointing out the spelling error.....I think possibly I've never known how to spell that word correctly!
I should have made it more clear.....my grandpa was very ill and knew he was in his last days. Halloween was coming up, so he probably had Grandma go buy some cards for us. Mine is a Hallmark and cost 15 cents!
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Ruth,
I'm sorry to hear you never had a chance to know your grandfathers. My other grandpa died when I was six.....I don't remember much about him.
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adventure girl,
Thanks for the wishes! I'm thankful to still have my mom around to celebrate birthdays with!
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Pat,
Thank you for stopping by and for the kind words.
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caution,
Heehee. I figured hands would be better than faces.....perserves privacy, but shows we were together.
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Sherry,
Panera was packed that day, too! Afterwards, we shopped nearby at Kohl's before heading back up 380. I hope your back is better!
Hi, sempringham,
You must have went to Coe or Mt. Mercy.
Yes, you're right, the card is a treasure......like Grandpa reaching forward in time with his love and greetings. We never know. I've got boxes and file drawers of genealogy info....given to me by elderly relatives before they passed on. If only I could get at organizing it all.
What a lovely, touching post Jeannelle. How nice that all of you were able to spend the day with your mom. I love the photo of the hands...nicely done!!!
How special to receive those cards after all these years. I have special memories of all of my grandparents. My dad's dad gave me a bible that had belonged to his second wife when I was very, very young. Mom keeps it in her china hutch at home. That was a special thing for him to do because he was a very "rough around the edges" kind of man.
That pumpkin looks like he was put behind bars because he was up to no good....just look at that mischevious grin....;)
Jeannelle,
I love your blog and posts. I live near Panera's in NE CR, closer to Wright School. I only knew one grandfather. He died when I was 10 and my sister 7. He lived with us on the farm in southwest CR, had a little one-room house all to himself. We often walked from our big house to his house to have breakfast with him. I have many fond memories of our times together. They just weren't long enough. He was our father figure. My parents also divorced - when I was 8.
Hi, deserthen,
That's wonderful you have memories of all grandparents! And, yes.....very special to be given that Bible by your grandfather.....grandchildren can soften up those rough guys sometimes!
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Hi, cathymae joy,
What a lovely name! Thanks for stopping in and mentioning your unique memories of having your grandpa living right there on your farm! That would be very special! I'm sorry to hear your parents divorced when you were only a child.....unless things would have been worse for you had they stayed together. Sometimes that how it is, sad to say. I was in my 30's when my parents divorced.
I didn't know Cedar Rapids very well until my kids were involved with sports at our Lutheran school and then we traveled many, many times over the years to Trinity Lutheran School in CR for games. Now that I'm not doing that.....I have time to blog!!
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