As I look into the eyes of our four grandchildren, I wonder how they see their grandparents. What is going through their minds when they hear their parents say they are off to to see Papa and Nana H (in the case of Spiderman and Batman) or Napa and Nama for Love Monster and Smirker?
Spending more and more time with all of them, I began to think back to many, many years ago when I was a grandson, the oldest of 3 boys. The anticipation, memories and feelings of traveling to and spending a few days with my grandparents have not faded with the passage of time. And the Christmas season always tends to make me reminisce even more about those wonderful times and those special people. I was fortunate that both sets of grandparents lived in the same small town in northeastern Iowa. A 6 hour drive on two-lane highways in a station wagon with no seat belts. Can you imagine 3 boys standing right behind their parents demanding "are we there yet?" about 50 miles into the trip! Now those were the days. Our visits were either for Thanksgiving or Christmas and once in the summer when my Dad was taking a break from the classroom. My parents, of course, were looking forward to seeing their parents and in-laws but the 3 of us were bouncing-off-the-wall ready to see both grandpas and grandmas, and our Auntie Maude as we called her.
We always arrived at my Mom's parents first - down the alley and up the driveway to the back of the house. We spilled out of the car and raced up the stairs to the back door and there they were, ready to greet us. But first, we always had to open the small pull down hatch next to the storm door where the dairyman would leave the milk bottles. Once in the door, we had to check the inside hatch. How cool was that. You didn't even have to go outside to get the milk. Now that tells you how long ago was. Then we hugged grandpa and grandma and settled in to catching up over sugar cookies and Ovaltine (well, maybe not in the summer). Oh, and grandma always served breakfast with her famous sugar cookies. "This is the life."
We boys always had the attic room - up the enclosed staircase in the middle of the house. We thought it was ginormous! And it had all these small rooms to explore off the "great" room at the top of the stairs. It was our private hangout. Grandma M would take us to his Mobile "filling" station to see the cars being worked on in the shop and to watch him chat with everyone that came in for a fill-up while he washed their windshield and checked their oil - for free...without being asked! Like I said, it was a different time. He was a serious man and tried to keep us in check as much as he could. Grandma M, on the other hand, doted on us without reservation. Grandpa M loved meal time when Grandma M would fix his favorites. He was a true Iowa meat and potatoes man. I can still see him sitting at the head of the table and Grandma M next to him with her ubiquitous apron wrapped around her waist tending to everyone's needs before her own. She kissed us with her lips folded in, which seemed different at the time but we loved it anyway. She was a very sweet lady. We played football in the back yard at Thanksgiving, often in the snow but that never bothered us. We were young and knew the warmth of their house and their arms awaited us after we finished running ourselves silly. In the summer, we lounged in their screened in front porch, taking turns on the swing and the long couch and sipping lemonade grandma M brought us before we could even ask.
The next day we drove over to Grandpa and Grandma H's house "way"over on the other side of town. I bet it took almost 5 minutes to get there! Grandpa H was a tall, thin man with a grin always on his face. He had tattoos from serving in the Navy. The really cool one was the dagger on his forearm that appeared to go under the skin and back out. He wasn't as proud of them later in life. He always wore long-sleeved shirts even in the heat of the summer. Momentos of a prior life. He could be strict in his own way but was a very funny guy, given to telling jokes and stories. He worked for the railroad, which was the town's primary employer, and traveled all over the world at times. He even spent a couple of years in Alaska. Grandma H was a tiny woman, with a twinkle always in her eye and also a mind of her own. She didn't go with Grandpa to Alaska. "Too darn cold!" She played the organ in the Presbyterian Church. We were amazed at the sound coming from the organ delivered with skill from those wee person's arthritic hands. Remarkable. She was a dear.
Then there was our Auntie Maude. (She loved Jonathan Winters as we all did - Maudie Frickert). Everyone should have an Auntie Maude - maybe you do. She was not married, and never would be, s it turned out. But she was the life of the party and had a lot of great friends. She also worked at the railroad - paid the time sheets for the engineers, conductors, etc. She had some great stories about her run-ins with some of the workers. she also had a very strong will and spirit. The 3 of them together had tornadic discussions - we enjoyed them anyway. We didn't stay up late at Grandpa and Grandma M's as they turned in early. Maudie, on the other hand, was a bit of a night owl. We loved staying up watching movies and eating popcorn with Maudie. She introduced us to scary movies (much to the chagrin of Mom and Dad) like "The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake". Seeing it again years later we thought it was actually kind of cheesy, but in our grade school years it was creepy!
Breakfast and Grandpa and Grandma H's house was a treat. Grandpa H loved his donuts (who doesn't) - powered donuts were his favorite. So we dined on OJ, cereal and donuts while listening to the local radio station and making our plans for the day. One of our favorite haunts was the Mason's Building, where Grandpa H was a High Falootin' Grand Muckety Muck or something like that. Their titles were hilarious. We thought it was a "secret society"of some kind. It seemed mysterious to us anyway. He would don his fez and drive those little go-karts around in the Independence Day Parade. Grown men! He was cool. And then there was the an old oak billiard table in the basement complete with laced leather pockets. It was huge...and beautiful. I am surprised none of us ended up as a pool hustler like Minnesota Fats. Ah, the sharp strike on the balls as they rolled quietly across the felt. Magical.
Those were wonderful times. Our grandparents were special and did what grandparents are destined to do - love their grandchildren beyond words and provide memorable moments that we remember to this day. And we loved them back - and still do. Thank you Grandpa and Grandma M and Grandpa and Grandma H. You helped shape us to this day. (Auntie Maude had a hand in that too!)
Reflecting on this special relationship I had with my grandparents, I only hope that we, as grandparents, can provide the same lasting impression in Love Monster, Smirker, Spiderman and Batman. Every moment with them is precious and we look forward with great anticipation for each new adventure along the way.
Oh, and there is that patience thing too.
Wishing all you grandparents a very Merry Christmas.
