So, Starting with the Entertainment…

Over and Over and Over

My Gramma R had things in her life she was very proud of.  The big things consisted of playing piano and working as a nurse, the little things consisted of whatever popped up in her life at the time- medications, exercise, maybe food or maybe a new outfit.  Of course she liked to talk about her interests, but nothing she said was ever new.  She told us the same things over and over for the duration of our entire lives up until hers ended.  I can’t even count the number of times I heard about her knees suffering from “old Arthur” (arthritis)and the rub that helps them, her Claritin D which really helps her, the nasal spray her doctor talked her into, or how working as a registered nurse helped her in life.  Or about the “cuppa” she and grandpa drank every night (mugs of hot chocolate, even though it seemed to be 98 degrees in their house).  How about her cousin who lives in American Samoa but writes to her faithfully.  Or about her aunt who taught her to play piano.  Or how her her elderly friends are shocked that she eats a baked potato every day.

Mental list

My cousin once mentioned that Gramma has the same 5-10 things in her head at all times, ones that she is just itching to say out loud.  She starts at the top of her list, and after about an hour when she has chattered about all of them, she starts over at the top.  The rest of us would try to change the subject and sometimes even interrupt her, but she was not deterred.  Gramma would not be satisfied until she verbally checked off her list- several times. Sometimes I could hear frustration in her voice when she didn’t have the air time she needed to get everything out.  So we often just let her get it out and acted interested.  Many people might find her immediately annoying, but it took several days before I had my fill of her.  Maybe parts of her personality were so similar to my mom I couldn’t help but love her.

Funny Gramma

So many Gramma stories.  I am sure I am going to forget to include a great one.  But here are some pretty good ones.

Gas

She and Grandpa kept very active for many years.  When I would visit as a child, they both took a speed walk every day.  Gramma, however, would also do some exercising in the house, and wasn’t afraid to do them in front of my family.  One evening she did sit ups in the living room while the rest of us sat around and chatted.  To get to the point, she let out a big fart.  But a fun thing about Gramma- she didn’t get super embarrassed and leave the room or get mad when the rest of us snickered.  She added a big “Whoops!” and laughed at herself.  Even when Grandpa brought in a huge box fan and aimed it at her (just to be funny), she laughed some more.  I love that she never took herself too seriously.

Super Glue

My mom’s side of the family has bad teeth in general.  The teeth look fine, but my mom and Gramma spent a lot of money during their living years on cavity fillings and crowns.  So when my Gramma became somewhat elderly and her teeth started falling out, she and my Grandpa came up with an affordable solution.  Super glue.  That’s right, she super glued her teeth back into her mouth.  And actually she didn’t do it, Grandpa did.  He glued the lost single tooth to the teeth on either side of it.  The mental picture of her leaning her head back while Grandpa squirts glue all over her tooth and then tries to place it back in the appropriate hole brings me chuckles to this day.  Grandpa long had a hand tremor by then, so how he even kept it in the right place long enough for glue to dry is beyond me.  When I asked Gramma how that worked for her, she said one application of glue gave her a couple of weeks of good chewing.  Wow.

The Stories Never End

Again, there are so many Gramma stories. I could talk about how she watered two ferns for a few years even though she wasn’t sure if they were real or plastic.  Or how she only bought Parkay margarine because it contained some real milk.  How about the way she talked a lot about low calorie food but in the end ate whatever she wanted.  Or about how many of her sentences began with “Say…”  But I will move on to more endearing memories.

My Kind Of Gramma

Gramma wasn’t exactly your stereotypical Grandmother.  She worked as a nurse until retirement age.  No knitting or baking served as her hobbies.  She focused on trying to stay healthy even though one could argue whether she succeeded or not.  She didn’t necessarily spoil her grandchildren by making them things, cooking special foods or giving them gifts and treats (except for birthdays).  But she did the best Gramma thing possible- she loved us dearly.  She was always SO excited to see us when we visited.  She always wanted to know what we kids were interested in and involved in.  And no matter what we told her, she would say “That’s really great.  That will help you a lot in life.”  She and Grandpa made many trips to Iowa to see special events of their grandchildren, and were happy to do it.

Loving and Welcoming

Gramma (and Granpda too) would have supported any decision we made in life and thought highly of it, as long as it didn’t directly oppose the Bible’s teachings.  They were so positive and upbeat, not at all judgmental.  When my husband came along, they considered him another grandson and readily welcomed him to the family.

My favorite endearing story about Gramma happened after I was married.  My husband and I lived about 30 minutes from them for a period of time.  I spent many evenings alone then because my husband worked late hours as a caterer.  One beautiful weekend evening, I found myself alone once again with lots of laundry to do.  My conscience told me to get the laundry done, but my lonely side wanted company.  I called Gramma and asked sheepishly if I could visit them and do my laundry at their house.  I felt like I was taking advantage of them by asking them to pay for water for my laundry.  But Gramma didn’t hesitate.  She said “You come on over.  You just come.  Just come.  It will be good to see you.”   I have never forgotten her words from that phone call.  I felt loved and welcomed even though I was bringing my dirty laundry.  And it was a lovely evening with them, even though I turned my husband’s white underwear pink in the washer.  Gramma even soaked the underwear for me, trying to get them whiter again!

Kindness Through the Generations

Years later, when Gramma was close to 80 years old and I had two kids of my own, she stayed at my house in Iowa for a few days.  In my kitchen, she was telling my friend about my mom, her daughter, who had passed away a couple years before.  Talking in a soft voice and very gently, she told my friend how kind my mom was to everyone, always putting others first.  “And you know what?” she said softly, then pointing at me, “You know who else has that same kind temperament?  She does, my granddaughter.”  Still pointing at me she repeated, “She has that same kindness inside.”

Gramma, do you know where my mom and I learned to be kind?  From you, kind teacher.  Thank you for always accepting me, supporting me, and loving me.  Miss you lots.

Read the Introduction to this post here- https://www.jodimnoord.com/quirkygrammas