My Mother's Mother

I was just reading an article about mothers and I began to cry.
I thought of my mother who no longer has her mother and my mother's friend who has lost her daughter.

I can't begin to say in words how wonderful, selfless, generous, and loving my mother is.  She is so many things to so many people.  She is a wonderful mother, a thoughtful mother-in-law, a sister, a friend to many, and a doting grandmother.

What else can I give you on Mother's Day but something from my heart...

For my mom on mother's day, (and for your sisters and brothers), I will share with you my special memories of your mother.

My Grandmother and my Aunt Mary

To feel:
My grandma was soft like the grandma's of fairy tales. To clamber into her lap was a climb to the coziest seat to be found.  Her hands were soft too.  All I need to do to remember them is look at my own, and my mothers. Grandma's were a little more plump and a wee bit crooked but I can see them and I can feel them in my mind. Here skin was soft too. Beautiful creamy skin that invited your cheek to linger when we kissed goodbye.
Most of my memories of grandma are of her sitting.  Her hips were not too strong and she would find a seat.  One was at the end of the dock at the lake.  She might sit there wrapped in a thick sweatshirt with a fishing pole in hand or in a bit of sunshine and watch her grandchildren swim off the dock. But here again, I can remember exactly what is was like to sit beside her and hold her soft hand.
She would also sit on the front porch in an old metal glider while we played crochet in the lawn or picked corn in the field.  I can remember the feel of the paint on the glider and the feel of her back as it pressed through the design on the seat back.
Grandma loved cookies, especially the thick soft melt in your mouth buttermilk cookies I continue to make today. Making cookies and pie crust at grandma's counter is a special memory.  We rolled, cut, and pinched with her guiding hands. I can feel the pressed dough that became stuck to the Formica counter. She loved having us with her, beside her, talking with her, and we loved her calm steady presence that I will cherish forever.

Dawn, my twin sister with Grandma

Dannette my big sister with Grandma at her counter

My Treasures:
Grandma gave me my first knitting needles along with one of her knitting bags when I was in college.  She was excited to pass them down to me and it gave me the inspiration to get started on a skill I continue to enjoy.  I remember showing her a pair of felt baby booties I had made before I had children.  She looked at them, then looked at me and said, "Are these for real babies?". It turns out they were too tiny to fit on any baby I have ever met....
She wrote out her Fried Mush and Boiled Mayonnaise Recipe for me. I rarely make the mush, due to the pound of lard and cup of sugar (no wonder her mush was wonderful!), but I am so glad I have them in her handwriting to make. As a matter of fact, I have lard, white sugar, and cornmeal all in my kitchen right now. Today may be the day for fried mush!
There are other things I have of hers, that Grandpa or Mom gave to me after she was gone, but those she gave me herself I hold the most dear.

Tut Tut and Tinkle Tinkle:
My boys ask for stories of when I was a little girl. Here are a few with Grandma:

If you were in trouble with grandma you knew pretty quickly.  The first warning: Her pointer finger would begin to rise and if you continued you would hear, "Tut, Tut" not too loud, but it got our attention.  We knew that if another "Tut, Tut " arose we would be in big trouble.  I never found out.  At least I don't recall finding out.  I don't remember ever getting in trouble, but I do remember hearing "Tut, Tut" enough that it makes me smile to think of it.  Why "Tut, Tut", I have no idea but somehow it works.  When I tell Joel that is what Great Grandma Bell would say, he giggles.

We also giggle over "Tinkle Tinkle":
One day in another desperate attempt to use the potty I told Joel what Grandma would say.
Before we needed to leave to get in the car she would ask, "Do you need to make a tinkle?" I elaborated on this for awhile and Joel sometimes giggles while saying, "Do you hear my tinkle tinkle?"

I remember the last kiss from my grandmother, 3 1/2  years ago when my first born was 10 weeks old. Still soft, lovely, and full of tenderness.