A Trip Down Memory Lane

When I was a little girl I LOVED going to my grandmother's houses. I had two wonderful ladies to call Grama - Laura and Marie. Grama Laura lived locally in Woodland and Grama 'For lived 18 miles away in Sacramento and we often took a little tiny car ferry to get to her. It seemed like a long journey and I often got car sick. I also had grampas but this story isn't about them. I was the oldest grandaughter on both sides so I was there to see it all happen as life unfolded and more and more babies came upon the scene. My Dad's brother Bob married my mother's sister Geraldine so these two Grama's had double the pleasure of daughters marrying brothers. That meant we spent alot of time together as a double family and the other aunts and uncles joined in on all the fun and we became one big happy family.

There are many things that I remember about their houses, of course, but I will choose two main things that really influenced me. Grama Marie had a breakfast bar put into her tiny kitchen and that is where EVERYTHING happened. Someone was always sitting around the table and after I got married I knew I wanted a space like that in my own home. Second, Grama Laura had a sun porch where we kids spent hours playing together with Grama right in the middle of us. Yes, I wanted a sun porch too.

On my recent trip to Woodland Lori and I went by 133 First Street and I got pictures of the old vintage house. It was old when Grama and PaPete lived there. I believe it was even used as a hospital during the war years. The current owners have done a nice job of refurbishing it but some things never change. The old oak tree still stands strong. The front porch was the grandchildren's domain. In the pictures below you will see Grama Laura's father, PaJess and PaPete's mother, Grama Sally (my great grandparents) standing on the porch. Look at the gingerbread at the left corner of the window. It is still there.

The old oak tree. We kids would spend hours gathering acorns to play with. It's shade was cool on a hot summer afternoon. And on this other side is the old sunporch. As you know I got my wish and I have such an elegant sunporch that Bob has built for me. Grama would have loved it.

Now this is the part that blows my mind! Look how little the breakfast bar is? And how small Grama's kitchen is. I thought my kitchen was small. I've added a picture of my breakfast bar and little kitchen as a matter of comparison and to show you what my kitchen can look like when my grandchildren come for a visit.

(my messy kitchen)

So for the record, my wonderful husband has given me a breakfast bar and a sun porch and now it is up to me to create the wonderful memories for my own grandchildren. It's a lesson in learning to use what you have (no matter how big or small) because it would seem that in the eyes of a child everything is larger than life - especially your grandmothers. I had two wonderful examples of two women who took pride in their homes, their housekeeping and homemaking skills and who loved their families more than anything. They used what they had to prepare meal after meal for all those hungry mouths.

And would you look at that! I even ended up with a picket fence and a bazillion flowers to go with it.

I would give anything to invite my grandmothers into my home for a day - to give them a tour, make them a meal, tell them about their grandaughter and their great grandaughters and their great-great grandchildren and how their simple, faithful lives have impacted mine and they would see that they live on in me. Some how, some way, I think they already know that and I'm pretty sure they are smiling.

Marie and Laura

(Okay, we all got taken in by the seventies style - even our Grandmothers!)