GRANDPARENTS

Few can bring the warmth
We can find in their embrace,
And little more is needed to bring love
Than the smile on their face.
They've a supply of precious stories,
Yet they've time to wipe a tear,
Or give us reasons to make us laugh,
They grow more precious through the years.
I believe that God sent us Grandparents
As our legacy from above
To share the moments of our life
As extra measures of His love.~
Author Unknown ~
Today I went over to visit my Mom. With my cup of tea in hand, (not coffee sob sob), I sat down with Mom and today's topic at first was sewing. She told us that she began sewing at age of nine, she was watching my grandmother sew and my grandmother said do you want to learn? She said here is some material so practice. Mom said my grandmother would get some clothes given to her by her sister in law Emilie from the USA and she would take the clothes apart and make new ones for the children. She would take a used coat for example, turn it inside out and make a new coat for Mom or the other children. Mom has been sewing ever since. She has made our clothes, our children's clothes and even her great grandchildren some clothes. Mom continued talking about when she was little she remembered this very poor family that lived down the road from them, and they were so poor that they did not have any good clothes to go to church, so my grandmother would lend them some of her children's clothes because they were all around the same age and after church the clothes would be returned. That was a very nice thing that my grandmother did. It shows me that she was a very kind hearted lady.Then we began talking about my grandfather. I never knew him, he died before I was born but Mom who has a great memory is sharing them with me. She said her father was a very smart man and he did a lot of fancy woodwork and Mom said to me, I wish I had one of his knives he made. She said he made the handle sort of crooked for an easier grasp and he would use the knife to make some shaving for Grandmother to light her stove with. Mom said he made his saw handles, he also carved a carrying pole for my grandmother to carry her water from the spring. He also believed very strongly in a good education for his family , so he would tutor them at home and read to them. I said to Mom do you remember some books he read from? Mom replied, yes one is paticular was poems by Robert Burns.
Yes grandparents are special. Seeing Mom and all that she does and has done for her grandchildren and great grandchildren makes me realize this. Mom said my grandmother was a happy person and she really loved and enjoyed us while we were growing up.
I could listen to Mom's stories everyday, they are always so interesting. So if you have parents or grandparents, sit down and listen to their stories, you will be amazed at things that they remember. Another thing Mom told me was that my grandmother loved to dance, now I never knew this, and she said they had houseparties and my Dad knew my grandmother loved to dance so he would dance with her, usually square dancing. I would love to have seen that.
I cannot stress enough how important listening to your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles is. Their stories are a part of genealogy, a part of history and a part of you.
Have a great day thanks for the visit.
Aline