I hope to my never

Wrote this one earlier last week bit forgot to post. You know, life gets busy. Enjoy

Good day friends! Happiest of Thursdays to you. I hope your day is going well and will continue to be all day long. For those of us that work Monday – Friday, our work week is almost over and we’ve almost made it. I say that like working is the worst thing in the world when actually it’s a blessing. I took a moment this morning to thank my God for allowing me to wake up healthy and warm and for allowing me to be able to work a job. I try to always give my thanks every morning. It seems to make my day go much better. I do my devotion and then get on with my day. I hope there’s something that you can do each morning to make your day start on a good note and give you a reminder of just how blessed you really are. Today I have had my grandmother on my mind all day long. She passed away 16 years ago but for today she was still right here in my heart. I just had the strongest urge to pick up the phone and call her. She was always there to answer and let me tell ya, she loved to talk. More than anything in this world the precious woman loved to talk. So because I couldn’t get her off of my mind, that’s where this little tale begins.

My grandmother was born in 1922. That seems so so long ago. She lived until her 90th birthday which to me is a life well lived. Now we’re from southern Appalachia area so of course we called her Mamaw. Not grandmother or gigi, or grandma but plain ole Mamaw. Her name was Martha which I think is just beautiful and to me a little different for most woman born in 1922. Most ladies her age were name Grace or Ethal or Beulah or Lucille. So to me she got a win with Martha. I was named after her. Her middle name was Elizabeth and that is my first name. She was a little short funny woman who everyone who met her just loved. She was a hell of a cook, and she loved the holidays. Especially Christmas. Sometimes I think that’s who I get my Christmas obsession from. She decorated to the rafters. And she loved anything pink. He carpet was ping. Some of the walls in their house were pink. The windows were covered with only the best heavy drapes, and they were or course pink. My siblings and I spent so much time with her and our papaw. They were our second parents and their house our home away from home.

My younger sister and I use to head to my grandparents’ house and stay almost every other weekend from Friday until Sunday. We looked forward to it and honestly, I think it was the highlight of their week too. Mom would “do her hair” on Fridays and they would let us grab our bags and head home with them. We were so lucky to have them. My younger sister and I never really knew my dads parents. My older sister and brother did and I’m sure they have lots of memories with them as well. They lived next door to us so they saw them a lot. They past away when I was an infant so I don’t remember anything at all about them. My sister was born 5 years later. So, we were raised with just one set of grandparents. We would have never known the difference honestly. Mom’s parents were 100% present in out lives. On a weekly basis and even more during the holidays and the summers when school was out. My Mamaw was the best. She fed us well and she loved to take us shopping.

There was bever a bedtime at my grandparents house. Isn’t that just loke grandparents. You eat what you want, watch what you want to on tv, play in the mud, and stay up as late as you want. One day when I have grandchildren, I plan to be exactly the same way. Sugar and hype those babies up and send them home lol. The bedtime was never an issue. Our Mamaw stayed up until 2 am or later. She was surely a night owl. Papaw on the other hand, was in bed as soon as the sun went down. And he was wide awake at 4 am with his coffee made and his first cigarette of the day smoked. Sometimes they would literally meet in the hall with his “good mornin” and her “good night”. I’m not kidding. It happened more than once. She wouldn’t sit up and watch tv. She read magazines and recipes. And she read them to us. We didn’t mind because on occasion she would fall asleep reading and we’d get so tickled.

The best memories that I will hold near and dear were the saying she had and the way she talked. “You tell that ole devil to get off your shoulder” she would say to me any time I was upset or heart broken. She thought things shouldn’t be depressing or bad. We’d tell her stories about all the things , good and bad that we would do and she’s say “I hope to my never”. I have no idea what that meant but, that saying was probably my favorite. Hence why I named todays blog what I did. They would sit on their porch with their neighbors on the warm evenings and talk until dark. Of course then Papaw would shew them off because well, it was dark and that meant bed time. They did that almost every night with the folks on their street. It’s sad really how most people don’t even know their neighbors any more. Life’s just too busy now.

Today when I wanted to pick up the phone and call her I just wanted to here her say “Myyyyeeelo” once and hear that care in her voice. (and yes she said hello just like that). Her voice was like a big hug. She was thrilled to get a phone call and to talk. I would talk to her about her day then she would want to know what all happened in mine. Even as a grown adult married and with a son, she wanted to know all of the things that happened. She didn’t get out a lot in her later years and I think those phone conversations were a way for her to live life through whomever she was talking to. She’d listen attentively and say “I’ll declare” about every 15 minutes. I don’t know what that means either but, she said it all the time lol. She’d get tickled and laugh so hard but no noise would come out. Just a little wheeze. It was the funniest thing ever. I smile just thinking of it. Today I sure do miss her. I was lucky. We had her a very long time. Papaw died 7 years prior but he was old too so we count ourselves very lucky. I just hope and pray we have we have momma for that many years.

My son was 9 years old when she passed. He got to enjoy her as well. He called her mimi. And he was the love of her life. I’m so thankful that he had the opportunity to have that time with her and that he gets to enjoy some of the same memories that I did.

Were you lucky enough to be able to spend time with your Mamaw? I sure hope that you did and that your memories are as wonderful as mine are. Take time today to think back about your time with her. Did she have some good old sayings that she used? Even if they didn’t make a bit of sense, do you still use them today? I do lol. If you still have your grandmother call her up and just talk. Let the sound of her voice just sink in so that you may never forget. Go see her if at all possible and take your kids if you have any. They might not love it but boy she will.

I hope today’s little tale has jogged some wonderful memories for you. Thank you for letting me share mine.

Always……Brooke

PS: For those following my heath journey. Yesterday was good. I didn’t eat a bite that I shouldn’t have. Its tough to cook dinner for your family and only eat portions of it but it can be done. It takes a lot of willpower, but it can be done. Just take it one day at a time. I got plenty of exercise in today outside walking my dog. He loves to jump around in the snow so I spent every break, my lunch and some in the evening out there with him. I weighed in this morning at 184.4