Tonight was tubby night at our house. After Eva spent a good long while with the duckies in the tub I got her out and dried her off. Allison does her hair. This usually consists of Allison drying Eva’s hair as Eva gets up, runs away and then back again. Drying hair takes a little while longer than anticipated every time. Tonight was a little longer than usual as Eva took the blow dryer and wanted to do ‘Momma’s’ hair.
My Grandmother Theresa Williams was a wonderful, Kind and generous woman. She passed away today. I was able to say my final goodbye to her on Monday. Allison was too and we brought Grandma a photo of Eva, it made her smile. Her eyes lit up when she saw the photo and she said how pretty Eva was, she so loved Eva. She then faded back to deal with the pain she was in. I told her that we all loved her and said my goodbye.
I’m 35 and up until today I have not had one grandparent die in my lifetime. I’ve been really lucky. Eva has been lucky as well because when she was born she had 4 grandparents and 8 great-grandparents. She was very lucky. Today we lost our Grandmother, Mother, Wife and Friend. Today is a sad day.
I do have many happy memories and some I’d like to share. Forgive me that they are rambling but they are cathartic for me to get out and remember many memories are just for me.
My Grandmother was instrumental on introducing me to something that has been a part of my life since I was ten years old. Transformers. Grandma gave me my first transformer, WheelJack and my second, Optimus Prime. I can still remember playing with those toys in the guest bedroom of my grandparents old house in Wareham, MA. That room had three beds, two regular size and one that was small that we called the Goldilocks bed. That house and the memories from it are some of my best childhood memories. I remember playing with my Transformers, fishing with Grandpa Dick on his boat. Walking on water, corn on the cob, playing pool, swimming, waterskiing (I watched but never was any good at it), catching little toads, raking out the muck at the beach, Glen Charley Pond, Glen Charley the giant snapping turtle (I never saw but heard much about him), “cut it!” (That was more a memory of Grandpa, but still), Crepes (my grandmother made the most delicious crepes in the world), Spirograph, Bachman pretzel sticks, mushroom pizza from our favorite restaurant in Wareham, Bradlees, Goldilocks Bed, Coloring a Snoopy book with markers.
As kids my sisters and I would often spend weekends with my grandparents at this house. We’d head down and go to the supermarket. Grandma and Grandpa would buy us whatever cereals, snacks and dinners we wanted that week. We’d always have crepes, we’d often have Oreos and each time we’d go to a pizza place for mushroom pizza, I can still taste it.
As kids we often went to spend time with Grandma at her house in Attleboro, MA. The home was a three family that my Mom, aunt and uncles grew up in, my parents lived there before and a little after I was born. I remember the smell of the house, sort of a Lemon Pledge, smoke, and Pewter mix. My grandfather spun pewter and they had a business where they sold the things he made as well as pewter figurines. Sometimes I would help grandma pack up the pewter figurines, sometimes she gave me some of them. She had a typewriter that she let me play on, so I guess I can attribute my typing skills to her. I remember afternoons watching the Banana Splits and cartoons, eating cheez-its, saltines pretzels and ginger ale (always ginger ale). We would have large meals around the dining room table that had a lazy Susan. Grandma always had olives for me too.
I loved eating around that table, everyone laughing having a great time and being together. I loved that table and the memories around it so much that when the house was sold and the furniture was divided I asked Grandma for the table for my home so that I could create wonderful memories for my family around it. It sits in our dining room right now and has a lot to live up to.
Grandma didn’t like to fly but she did fly once. She and Grandpa took me to Walt Disney World when I was 10 years old (1984 was the best year ever). Grandpa had a video camera that was so big. The camera was attached to the recording device that had to be carried over the shoulder. I remember us walking all over Disney and Grandpa recording everything. We had an incredible trip.
Having family close is important to me. I grew up surrounded by people who took an interest in the things that I was doing, Grandma and Grandpa came to all of my plays in High School. They were at every graduation and significant event.
Even at my wedding Grandma and Grandpa danced. They had been married 58 years at that point. Grandma was in a wheelchair most of the time but she and grandpa danced.
My grandmother was always generous. We’d open our gifts from Grandma and Grandpa on Christmas Eve. There would practically be no room for Santa to leave anything for Christmas morning. Grandma and Grandpa would scour the Eastern Seaboard on their trips to and from Florida for stores that had the latest Transformers, Cabbage Patch Kids and Holiday Barbies for us kids.
It was hard to see her get sick, be bed ridden for so long. I had a hard time finding things to talk about with her when I could talk with her about many things before. I have a really hard time when people are sick thinking of what to say.
Allison was a big help to finding the right things to say. Allison took up one of Grandma’s favorite hobbies, knitting. Allison knew that if Grandma liked what she was working on then she had won approval from the master. Then Eva came along and I was so glad that Grandma was able to meet her and see her begin to grow. This past Easter was a nice one where Eva was 1st able to search of Easter Eggs, an activity that Grandma loved watching us do. I think I participated in the Easter egg hunt up until age 25 or so. Each year I’d say, I’m too old, I’m not doing it but would end up searching the house for change and candy filled eggs. It made Grandma happy.
While you want your family to stay the way it is when you were a kid and you want your parents and grandparents to live forever, it just doesn’t happen. I will miss Grandma Theresa very much. I do take comfort that she is now at peace.
Now her family must carry on and pass on those great memories of Grandma to the next generation. Already Tara and Shelby promised to teach Eva to crochet and Eva will be sleeping on the Goldilocks bed when she goes to the Cape (once she can sleep in beds).
We will miss you Grandma, thank you for everything.