4 months ago
In a circle, that's how we tell stories.
I went to my grandmothers today. Here is a stream of our conversation,
She was only 17 when she got married. Dona Luz(great grandma) really liked her. When Great Grandpa and grandpa went off to work Dona Luz would take off to her friends house and talk. She would just leave the morning dishes there. Grandma then would go in and clean up. She said that she could hear dona Luz's laughter coming from the neighbors house.
Grandma would drive my grandpa's car. She would take dona Luz to the market and out to the watermelon fields. She would tell my grandma that they could fill up the trunk with melons for a $1.00. Not till later did she finally find out it was a $1.00 a watermelon. My grandmother laughed. She said "all those times... we took all those melons...and we only paid a dollar each time.
I look at her nails, polished to perfection with clear polish. I look at my own hands. My clear polish is chipped.
She then starts to talk about her first home with my grandfather (now divorced). They lived in a "roster" shack behind my great grandparents home. She laid down linoleum on the dirt floors. Put up curtains, built a closet and had a little table that held her pots and pans. They had previously had rosters and their feed in this shack. Evey morning she fixed it up a little more. She gave birth to my Uncle in that house. She had a mid wife. No drugs. Dona Luz was there to help. Grandma said that dona Luz yelled out gritos the whole time.
She made me laugh... she said that she was so naive when she got married. She had no clue as where babies came out of. She remembers her first smock. Maternity clothes...
They all thought that Dona Luz was her mother and that my grandfather was the son -in- law.
Her hands are thin, her skin is spotted, she just went to the doctor for pills to stop the itching on her hands and arms. I look at her eyes and see the woman... the woman my grandfather married. The woman who's wedding picture is on my living room wall. She is beautiful.
She mentions a small dog she once had. It died. She buried it in the back yard. Back yard of which house and how long ago did she have this dog, I don't know. I don't ask.
She and my grandfather went to Vegas. When they came back they got married. Petey slept in the same room as they did when they came back from Vegas. Grandma was "fully" clothed and so was grandpa. Dona Luz walked in and woke them up with her laughing.... I guess at the fact they were all crashed out in one room.
My cousin calls twice while I'm there. He lives in Wisconsin with his life partner. We talk about his house and family. She went out to visit him the same time I was in Atlanta. She fell in love with his home. She walked me through the house room by room. Her favorite, however, was the path down to edge of the property. He lives on the bank of a lake.
She mentions court on Monday. The man who killed my step grandfather has another court date. Her eyes swell. (my eyes swell as I write this) She then grabs a letter from Social Security. I read it. She wants me to call SS. Money from his SS. She says that my Tia does not understand it. I have no clue if it's been taken care of or not. SO now I have to call my tia or my dad and then if no one knows...SS.
I show her my blog, some photos on my computer ( took my laptop) and tried to look up her SS claim on the ss website. No luck. I take her trough some of the blogs linked on mine and she is amazed at the Internet community.
Soooo. Here I am. Sitting in the kitchen typing. Looking out the back window as I type. Roses on my right. Kitty on my left. The sun being swallowed up by storm clouds. the wind picking up ... the chill of the air coming through the window. Change. Seasonal change. I need to change.
She was only 17 when she got married. Dona Luz(great grandma) really liked her. When Great Grandpa and grandpa went off to work Dona Luz would take off to her friends house and talk. She would just leave the morning dishes there. Grandma then would go in and clean up. She said that she could hear dona Luz's laughter coming from the neighbors house.
Grandma would drive my grandpa's car. She would take dona Luz to the market and out to the watermelon fields. She would tell my grandma that they could fill up the trunk with melons for a $1.00. Not till later did she finally find out it was a $1.00 a watermelon. My grandmother laughed. She said "all those times... we took all those melons...and we only paid a dollar each time.
I look at her nails, polished to perfection with clear polish. I look at my own hands. My clear polish is chipped.
She then starts to talk about her first home with my grandfather (now divorced). They lived in a "roster" shack behind my great grandparents home. She laid down linoleum on the dirt floors. Put up curtains, built a closet and had a little table that held her pots and pans. They had previously had rosters and their feed in this shack. Evey morning she fixed it up a little more. She gave birth to my Uncle in that house. She had a mid wife. No drugs. Dona Luz was there to help. Grandma said that dona Luz yelled out gritos the whole time.
She made me laugh... she said that she was so naive when she got married. She had no clue as where babies came out of. She remembers her first smock. Maternity clothes...
They all thought that Dona Luz was her mother and that my grandfather was the son -in- law.
Her hands are thin, her skin is spotted, she just went to the doctor for pills to stop the itching on her hands and arms. I look at her eyes and see the woman... the woman my grandfather married. The woman who's wedding picture is on my living room wall. She is beautiful.
She mentions a small dog she once had. It died. She buried it in the back yard. Back yard of which house and how long ago did she have this dog, I don't know. I don't ask.
She and my grandfather went to Vegas. When they came back they got married. Petey slept in the same room as they did when they came back from Vegas. Grandma was "fully" clothed and so was grandpa. Dona Luz walked in and woke them up with her laughing.... I guess at the fact they were all crashed out in one room.
My cousin calls twice while I'm there. He lives in Wisconsin with his life partner. We talk about his house and family. She went out to visit him the same time I was in Atlanta. She fell in love with his home. She walked me through the house room by room. Her favorite, however, was the path down to edge of the property. He lives on the bank of a lake.
She mentions court on Monday. The man who killed my step grandfather has another court date. Her eyes swell. (my eyes swell as I write this) She then grabs a letter from Social Security. I read it. She wants me to call SS. Money from his SS. She says that my Tia does not understand it. I have no clue if it's been taken care of or not. SO now I have to call my tia or my dad and then if no one knows...SS.
I show her my blog, some photos on my computer ( took my laptop) and tried to look up her SS claim on the ss website. No luck. I take her trough some of the blogs linked on mine and she is amazed at the Internet community.
Soooo. Here I am. Sitting in the kitchen typing. Looking out the back window as I type. Roses on my right. Kitty on my left. The sun being swallowed up by storm clouds. the wind picking up ... the chill of the air coming through the window. Change. Seasonal change. I need to change.
So ... I could not wait
So I could not wait two weeks to post. I went to the market and bought these beautiful sunflowers. They were in a box in the produce section. I bought them to brighten up my office. We actually have had rain for the last three days. Ok, we have had drizzle but today it's actually getting to the point of "rain". I brought them home. Here they are in front of other photos I have taken through out the last two years.
I came home yesterday from work to these lovely roses from my husband.
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