I thought I'd give just a couple of memories I have of my Grandma! Almost all my memories of grandma are in her home. She loved cooking for people and I always knew there would be greasy eggs and bacon made the mornings we stayed over (although she always kept really good cereal too, so we actually ate cereal...we were impatient kids in the morning). I even remember when I first started dating Cordelle, we visited my Grandma and she made us a pumpkin pie. It was so cool. You absoluteyl could not visit and leave hungry. She took it so personally to make sure we were fed. She almost always had cookies or fudge somewhere, I just had to dig for it sometimes.
Grandma always had her chair that we all knew could not be sat in. She had her notebooks and TV guides marked out with what movies she wanted to record. And endless VHS of movies she recorded over the years. They were all numbered and kept a record of what movies were there in a notebook that was like the family room bible. We watched movies more than anywhere else at Grandmas but that just what we did there. Grandma would always stay up late with us or watch the fun shows while Grandpa had to watch his news, Jazz games and the weather channel. But Grandma was a reader too. She loved her sci-fi novels and series. I couldn't figure out which she loved more...the books or her movies, but she had plenty of both.
Grandma and Grandpa would have the most hillarious conversations where she would rip on him and he would deny any wrong doing. You knew they loved each other but in their teasing way, Grandma would accuse him of flirting with the young girls at the grocery store as she walked around looking for him or something similar. She would tell me stories about how she saw real UFO's on camping trips and of course me being the sci-fi nerd I was was completely enamored by these stories. It was like my dream to see a UFO when I was little and here Grandma had actually seen one.
We'd climb on her outdoor fireplace (I even have a permanent scar to prove it). We'd pretend to play on the tractors and lawn mowers that never really worked and dared each other to climb the tree full of ants. We'd walk to and from Karen's corner ( the little shop at the end of the street ), play at the city park (the old Aurora park by the mountain) and every once in a while go on four wheeler rides avoiding cops but knowing we'd get away with not having helmets on because Grandpa was the mayor.
I remember marveling at her hair that was done only once a week at a hair dresser, pinned and sprayed till the next week, watching her put on her clip on earings (they never were peirced) in her bedroom mirror. We felt so honored if we were able to take a bath in Grandma's bathroom because we knew that was her territory and if there was one place we werent allowed to go it was in their bedroom and bathroom. I guess there was another place we didnt go at her house though.....the basement! Not because we werent allowed to but because it was small, full of spiders and terrifying.
Every kid enjoyed the "toy drawer" where you could always count on finding that big red truck, random babies and that white container full of spools of all shapes and sizes. We'd beg to plug in the tiny organ but could never really get it to work right. I remember having to curl or blow dry our hair in the hall way in front of the mirror that I was never quite tall enough to see in but the bathroom was always preoccupied by someone else.
And then of course there were my Grandma's talents. She made dolls that were just magnificent that adorned her home. She painted canvas after canvas of mountains, meadows, streams, animals, landscapes, cabins all the outdoors. They were incredible. I am so grateful I have a handful of them.
But what I loved most about Grandma were her hugs. Yes, she was always fluffier than she probably wanted to be, but it made for the best cuddling and I would have never changed that about her. Her skin was so soft and I secretly just wanted to fall asleep right next to her on her big lazy boy. But as big as she seemed she could always stand up straight, lock her knees and palm the floor with her hands. A trait I think I inherited from her! She had a lovely laugh and she took great pride her her kids and grandkids which she displayed on her picture wall of fame. It was fun for us to go through our own pictures she had kept behind the frames from when we were younger.
I really felt very close to my Grandma Mason, but I assume all us grandkids did. She had a way to make us feel like we were all important. Grandma I love you! Thank you for all you did for me growing up and for my dad as his mother. I hope I can continue to learn more about her life cause I am sure there are so many stories I still haven't heard.
