Grandparents

[storytimewithjoe]

This morning I called my mom to wish her a Valentine's Day.  For no particular reason, she mentioned to me that her mother was born on February 12th, 1885.  For those of you who actually knew or met your grandparents, this should help to put things into perspective. 

Growing up, I had one living grandparent, my father's mother Clara.  And from my earliest memories, she scared me because she looked so ancient.  She looked somewhat like Sophia from Golden Girls, except older.  And I often couldn't understand her.  Her voice was somewhat gargled, and she had a strong Portuguese-New-England accent.  She always wore black.  And in so many ways, she was the typical European stereotype of the matriarch of the family.  She was all I knew about the concept of grandparents. 

Yet, so much of that cultural identity is the sort of thing that utterly and completely fascinates me now.  Siiiiiiigh.

I wish I could have known all of my grandparents.  It would be interesting to know first hand who they were.

Comments

[slamson.livejournal.com]

My paternal grandfather was born in Nov of 1887, so I know what you mean. He died just shy of his 88th birthday, when I was 11. He was a Methodist minister, shopkeeper and farmer. He never really looked old to me, simply infirm in his last years, because of the family youthful appearance gene. My paternal grandmother had died at 62 many years before, but Grandpa had remarried a woman maybe 10 years younger, so I had her for a grandmother. She was quite vibrant, so it was a shock when she had a severe stroke the week before he had the one that began the final 3-month slide. They did the snowbird thing between Ohio and Frostproof, and we visited every weekend. While Grandfather was increasingly infirm, Grandma was da bomb! She loved kids and family get-togethers and was in high gear all the time. Although my grandparents were up in years because I was born so late, I was fortunately able to spend a lot of time with them while Grandma in particular was still sharp.