The 1st Sunday of September after Labor Day is National Grandparents Day. That's sounds complicated. It's not a public holiday but it is an day of observation. It was first signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.
At first I thought cool because I am a grandma to these cuties.
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| They have grown up a bit more since this was taken but they are mine. |
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But it made me think of my own grandparents. I recognize I don't remember specifics about them but I remember the surroundings of them.
My maternal grandparents are: William Jennings Reed and Esther Sophia Browning
My paternal grandparents are: Joseph John Brinkman and Sarah Minnie Newman - although I never meet Grandpa Brinkman
Sunday afternoon was visits to Grandma and Grandpa Reed's home. Our family would drive from our home in Shelley to Idaho Falls and spend an hour or two there. The grownups would talk, the kids would play. You know my remembrance was my dad always wanting to go there, it was important to him too not just my mom. Sometimes other family members were there but most often it was just us.
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| An outing to Warm River |
Their home was modest with a small backyard but there was a swing set to enjoy during good weather. I can't recall what we did during the winter but playing downstairs on the stationary bike. Plus up and down with the laundry chute. We probably dropped down that once or twice.
Grandpa always set in his easy chair, it looked so huge and comfy to sit in but it wasn't. I would jump into and ugh, no give. I would fall for that each time. I think Grandma's was soft. It was kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears - "this chair is too hard, this chair is too soft."
Grandpa was tall and Grandma was short. And Grandma always wore a dress! Always, I don't know of anytime that she wore pants, not once. Even when we went outside and picked apples, she was wearing a dress. They had a small orchard and garden, it may have been only apple trees, behind the detached garage. In the garage was an old car that I would peek in on occasionally. It just looked cool but they never drove it. I guess they must have to the store but I know on the rare occasion when they came to our home for a Sunday dinner, my dad would always drive to pick Grandma and Grandpa up.
And in the kitchen there was a jar of ginger cookies, always ginger cookies. I never liked ginger cookies when I was young and they were hard and crunchy but if I wanted something sweet while at their home it was the ginger cookies. They weren't just out on the counter, they were in a cupboard over the fridge and I would pull a chair over and climb up to get them. Oh about once or twice a year there would be a surprise and candy in the jar. That must have been what kept me searching in the cupboard.
I know I was blessed to know my Grandma and Grandpa Reed and the example of love set by my parents.
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| 50th Wedding Anniversary |
My Grandma Brinkman lived in Salt Lake City. She lived in a little apartment with my Uncle Richard, my dad's brother. It was a small little apartment with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. They lived in the end apartment of a row of about 6 apartments. The apartments were next to a small little creek running through the back area. I would take explorations along the creek, sometimes it was full and sometimes it was dry but it was my entertainment there. That, along with a wander down to Granite High School. At Granite High School the entrance had a huge stairway with huge stone walls that I would slide down summer or winter.
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| Joseph and Minnie Brinkman, Raymond and Richard |
I don't know how often we would go see Grandma Brinkman. At least every 3 or 4 months. One time I remember us staying in a motel down the street and my dad actually got into a car accident near the motel. Another time we drove down that morning and drove back that night. Sometimes we would drive home by way of Logan Canyon and that was my favorite because we would enjoy the changing fall colors.
If it was Easter, Grandma always made hard boiled eggs for us that she colored and wrote our names on. There was one for each of her grandchildren. Sometimes she hid them in her apartment but they were always easy to find because there weren't very many places to hide. She also often made red velvet cake which my dad loved but I never appreciated. Once I became a teenager I would help with the dishes because often there were dishes to be washed, dried, and put away when we visited. Maybe she knew we were going to do them so she saved them for us. Ha ha.
Right down the street from where Grandma and Uncle Richard lived with the first ever Kentucky Fried Chicken! Dad would treat us all to dinner at KFC or we would go to Bob's Big Boy. There I discovered patty melts and still order a patty melt today at any restaurant that has it on its menu. Every birthday brought a card from her, with a quarter attached for me and a dime for Katherine or vice versa if it was Katherine's birthday. After I was grown and living away from home, birthdays meant an early morning phone call with her singing "happy birthday" as soon as you said hello.
Sometimes she came to our home in Shelley. Usually Aunt Irene would bring her to visit for a few days in the summer. I probably had to give up my bed for the guests. But her visits meant cousins came to play and that was great.
After Grandma turned 80 she moved into a rest home. I didn't like visiting there at first, you know with all those old people. But I got grew up. Craig and I moved to Salt Lake City when Aimee was 2 and lived there for another 12 years. During that time I had the opportunity to visit Grandma Minnie often and sometimes took Aimee and Anthony with me. Once we brought her to our home for dinner. That was a bit of a chore because we had a steep stairway that was hard for her to climb. Sometimes the nursing staff at the rest home had to contact me for some of Grandma's health issues if they could not contact Aunt Irene, I was second on the list.
Spending that time with my Grandma Brinkman in her shared bedroom at the rest home cemented my love for her. Another blessing for me.
Being a grandparent is the best, spending time with my grandparents was good for me. Families are pretty terrific.
