My fondest childhood memory of my grandmother, whom my sisters and I fondly called “Momo”, is of our nightly routines when my sisters and I would spend the night with her and “DinDin”, our grandfather. After feeding us a home cooked meal of fried chicken with all the extras, DinDin would turn on HeeHaw or Dukes of Hazzard, depending on what night it was, and he would twirl my sisters and me around the room and he would slap his knees and we would all laugh at him. Momo would sit in her rocking chair, with the latest harlequin romance novel in her hands, shaking her head at us like we had all lost our minds. Secretly, I think it made her very happy to be surrounded with so much love.
After our nightly television show, Momo would start our baths. This was surprisingly my favorite time of the night. I adored her ceramic pink bathtub with the non-skid flowers stuck to the bottom but enjoyed playing with all of her perfumes and powders even more. Momo had a collection of perfume and I would spend some time after my bath tracing my fingers over the smooth edges, carefully un-capping each one to smell the scents. She always kept large tubs of perfume-scented body powder. The powders were my favorite and inside of each container, laid a big, feathery, pink puff. It was the one item in her bathroom I knew I could use without getting in trouble and so after my bath, I would proceed to puff down my entire body with Chantilly Lace scented powder. Once bath time was over, Momo sent us to bed.
Sometimes, my sister, Amy, and I shared the upstairs guest bedroom. We would climb in bed to wait for Momo to come tuck us in and some nights, we would peek out the door to watch DinDin do his nightly calisthenics. Once Momo was done with her bath, she would come into the room with her pink pajamas and a dewy face that had just been bathed in Pond’s Cold Crème. If it was a cool night, she would lift the windows and the curtains would blow out, lifting her scent, and the smell of her would waft in the air and float over my sister and I.
It’s a funny thing about our senses. The smallest detail can trigger so many memories. Still, to this day, when I spot a tub of Pond’s Cold Crème in the drugstore, I will open the lid and breathe in the scent of sweet memories. I remember that Momo would take a blanket and roll it up and then lay it down right in the middle of the bed – drawing the battle line, so to speak – so that Amy and I had an equal amount of space. She was a peacekeeper and a peacemaker. I cannot ever recall a time when I ever heard Momo or DinDin raise their voice at one another or at us.
It was no secret that Momo was a strong-willed woman. She worked hard all of her life to give an honest, decent life for her children. She worked in a knitting mill for years. And then, once she retired, she devoted the rest of her life to making a wonderful home for her husband and her family. I cannot recall a time when my grandfather did not have a warm breakfast, a warm lunch and a warm supper. Anyone who visited their home for an overnight stay can attest to the warm feeling of waking up to the smell of home-baked biscuits and bacon sizzling on a cast iron skillet.
She was an amazing gardener. If it bloomed, it was in Momo’s yard at one time or another. Crocus, tulips, buttercups, and poppies all had a home throughout her garden. Her yard always made me happy and my favorite flowers are still the very ones that would burst forth with life in her garden every Spring.
She kept a clean home and DinDin always had freshly pressed clothes. She canned jams and pickles and relish. She made homemade vegetable soup – with vegetables out of her own garden. She was different in that she didn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve. She wasn’t ever what I would consider a doting grandmother but I always knew that I was loved and I always felt safe and happy in her home.
Momo battled with Alzheimer’s for ten years and was diagnosed with cancer in April. On May 21, 2005, she passed away. Her scent will always linger.
1913-2005
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01:18 PM
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What a great memory, Joy...
Posted by mo at June 14, 2005 11:18 PM
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Self-Made Man 