Oh That's Beautiful

I'm packing up some stuff around the apartment and today I came across an old perfumed talc container that was my grandmother's. I think it might be from Avon, but it couldn't hold greater value to me if it was from Baccarat. I'd completely forgotten that I had possesion of it and in an instant the sight and smell caused a thousand memories to flood back.

My paternal grandparents lived next door to us. It was a wonderful way to grow up. Their yard was our MBL park. Their driveway a roller coaster ride on a bicycle. Their kitchen a cornucopia of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils and love, lots of love. Their driveway a source of income due to their nicotine habits - they used to pay us a dollar to pick up all the butts.

My grandmother was Slovakian. She was a small well built woman who loved her family. She was always willing to have her grandkids over, despite the messes we made. She laughed easily. According to legend she occasionally threw things when my dad was growing up, including knives and ice cream. She must have found solace in the fact that we grandkids would go back and torture our parents after a couple hours because nothing was ever lobbed in our directions.

She said the word "beautiful" as though it was a mouthful of a word - it became "beeyouteefull" and she used it often. She would ask for a sliver of dessert and by the time she was done telling you what size the sliver should be it was a normal size piece of cake or pie. She made it a necessity to have cans of soda and fun-sized candy bars in the fridge at all times. She knew what each of us preferred and would meet us at the door with it - mine was coke and snickers.

She wore dentures and after she took them out in the evening was embarrassed when anyone showed up unexpectedly, such as myself looking for some sugar. She would keep her hand raised to cover her mouth the whole time she talked to you. She would always wear old lady housecoats in the evening, you know the ones that button up the front. She loved to eat circus peanuts because she could gum them to death without her teeth in. This was one place where she and I differed vehemently. I can't stand the idea of those orange sickly sweet puffs, but she loved them.

She was terrified of animals....all animals: dogs, cats, even butterflies. You would have thought they had teeth...the butterflies, that is.

She talked to the food she made - "chinka chinka chinka". Pigs in a blanket - not the rolls with mini hot dogs but cabbage leaves stuffed with meat -, nut rolls, pickled pigs feet and eggs and pizzelles were specialties. Every New Year's Eve ended at midnight by having a feast including pork roast, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. She made sure we each were given a quarter at midnight because if you start the year with money in the hand, you will end the year with money in the hand. 

She thought that I was beautiful, and she loved to hear me sing. She loved me, just as I was. I'm so glad I was reminded of how wonderful she was by simply cleaning up a bit.