There are times when people from my past seem to fade way into the background of my thoughts. It’s not like they go away completely but I don’t seem to think about them as often some times. And then there are the other times when the come screaming right to the front of everything. I can’t hardly get through a day without spending some quality time in thought about them.
This has been the case with my grandmother lately. I guess it’s just my tendancy to live in the past but particularly as we approach the holidays each year, I see her face and I hear her voice again. This particular story isn’t about the holidays exactly. It is more about just the person that she was.
My grandmother was a very special woman to me. She worked in the hosiery mill in Elizabeth City for 70 years… yes, you read that right… 70 years. She never had very much but everything she had, she gladly shared with others. There was always food to eat and the warmth of the old Seigler oil furnace blasting away in the sitting room to knock the chill off on those cold winter days.
She always made a fuss about her grandkids on their birthday. I never will forget those Sundays close to my birthday when we would go visit. She would always call me out by name… and the others that were there as well to come into the sitting room. We would gather around her as she opened up her old secretary, take out her purse and hand me 50 cents… 2 quarters… just for me… because it was my special day! And because she never wanted any of us to feel bad or left out, she would give each of the other grandkids a quarter a piece as well. So not only did I always look forward to my own special day… but I always loved my cousin’s birthdays too!
I hope that I can be as caring as she was… not just for those that are having their special day, but for everyone that is a part of my world. May I always have quarters available… and a willingness to share them.
Living Life On The Narrows 