Memoir Mondays Week 21

This week's Memoir Mondays questions are about family trips and grandparents.  When I was small (before I was in school), my dad was in the Army.  We lived in one other country and several different states from the time my sis and I were born until we started 1st grade.  For that reason, we didn't live near either set of grandparents.  We also didn't take many vacations when I was growing up.  This week's questions brought back some fond memories that I do have, though, of vacations and grandparents.  I hope you enjoy reading about them.

1. Do you recall any outstanding family trips or summer holidays you experienced as a child?


I do remember once (when we lived in Nashville, I think) when my parents and sister and I all got up really early one morning to head to Mississippi to see both sets of grandparents.  I remember being really excited about seeing them.  I also remember asking my parents to tell me about each set of grandparents and having them explain which set was which.  It was a little confusing to be up so early and traveling while it was still "night."  I honestly don't even remember getting to Mississippi and seeing my grandparents on that trip at all, but I do remember the anticipation and all those questions I asked! 

Oh, and here's a bit of "bonus" information just for fun.  When we lived in Nashville, my dad was the manager of the apartment building where we lived.  In the apartment right under us was Ronnie Milsap and his wife and son!  He was just beginning to really become known in the music industry, and he was gone most of the time.  His wife, though, knew my mom, and his son (Todd--if I remember correctly) played with my sister and me.  I sometimes wonder if they remember us at all.  Guess I'll never know!

2. Do you remember any of your four grandparents? Any greats? What were their names? Any memories that you have.

Both of my dad's parents have passed away.  Their names were Mae and James.  I absolutely adored my grandfather!!  He was always very active and talkative and happy.  He loved to talk about politics with my dad, and I remember Mamaw getting onto him because he would get so excited when they talked politics that he would end up getting really loud.  I always thought it was so funny the way she got onto him and the way he always ignored her and went right on with what he was doing.  They really loved each other, though, and we knew it. 

Mamaw was not a very outwardly affectionate person, but she loved us and we loved her too.  She always called my sis and me "Sugey."  (Like the word "sugar.")  She raised the biggest, yummiest tomatoes in the world!!  They were absolutely fantastic!!  She and Papaw had a garden every year, and they loved to show it to us when we visited.  Once we were school age, we lived pretty close, so we saw them pretty regularly.  Mamaw was a good cook, too, but she didn't use many spices or much salt.  We always had to add a bit of salt to whatever she cooked, but it was good. 

My mom's dad died when my sis and I were pretty young--maybe 7 or 8 years old.  I do remember him, though.  I particularly remember his bald spot and how we loved to use crayons (who knows why??) to poke his bald spot when he was sleeping in his recliner!  I also, for some weird reason, have a pretty vivid memory of one time when he was keeping my sis and me when we were sick and couldn't go to school.  My mom was a teacher, so he kept us sometimes when she needed to go to work but we were too sick to go to school.  He always took us in his old pickup truck to a little store nearby.  On this occasion, he took us to the store, bought us each some kind of candy, and then one of us threw up (sorry--gross!) in his truck on the way home.  (Because my sis and I are twins, our memories sometimes get mixed up and we can't remember which of us the memory actually happened to and which one was the bystander.  I'm not sure which of us actually was sick in his truck.)  I remember feeling really bad about it because he loved his truck.  He was always so calm and quiet, though, that I don't remember him getting upset about it or anything.

My mom's mother is still alive.  She lives next door to my mom, so I see her fairly often.  She makes the best, fluffiest, yummiest biscuits you've ever had!!  Honest!!  You should try them sometime.  I remember spending the night at her house when my dad had to go out of town sometimes (because my mom was afraid to stay at home when Daddy was gone).  She had a window unit air conditioner for the years we were small, and we slept in the living room on quilts and listened to that old air conditioner as we went to sleep.  Then in the morning she would quietly go into the kitchen and make coffee and biscuits and sausage.  When it was all ready, she'd yell out, "Breeeeeeeeakfaaaaaast!" 

Here's another little bit of extra free info for ya.  When we ate breakfast, we ate what we called "coffee and biscuits."  What that meant was that we ate biscuits crumbled up with black coffee poured over them and mixed all together.  I know it sounds gross (and DON'T try it with canned biscuits--nothing but homemade will do for this), but it's so yummy!!  I still love to eat it when I'm at her house if she has any biscuits left over since I'm never there at breakfast.  In fact, just typing this is making my mouth water (no kidding!).  I think I'm going to go call my grandmother right now and tell her to make me a big pan of biscuits! 

Do you have a memory of a trip or a grandparent that you'd like to share?  You can leave me a comment here, or you can post on your own blog and link up at Heartfelt Homeschooling.  I'd love to hear from you!