Friday, September 24, 2010

Remembering My Grandmother


Early this morning my Grandmama Harrell went home to Heaven. She is the one in between her two girls (and me in in the back) It wasn't totally unexpected as she had, had several strokes over the last three years. She hasn't really known any of us for the last 2 years. So I have mourned losing her many times over the last two years but of course she was still with us so the sting of loss wasn't really that great.
She was a feisty, hard working lady and taught me a lot about so many things:perseverance, hard work, giving to others, being there for each other,and being proud of the gifts God has given you. As she used to tell me when I was having one of those "stage fright" moments: "Get on out there and strut your stuff, honey."She was our biggest fans and never wanted us to settle but to keep striving to be our best. She would travel to hear my group sing if we were within driving distance and was so proud and would whoop and clap.
I will miss her laughter and even her fussing at me. (smile) I enjoyed being able to cut up with her over the years. She loved to dance and sing. (I loved learning that when she was a teenager she would sneak out of her house to go to barn dances. That was big no, no in their family) One of her favorite things in later years for us to do was to get around her old upright piano and play so we could all sing. I loved it when she would play the old hymns and just sing. She also loved to play boogie woogie...I can hear her now pounding out those old songs that she loved.
One of my moms favorite memories is of one summer when I brought some old songs from the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and my Grandma, my mom, her baby sister and myself sang our lungs out and danced like goofs around my Grandmama's den with our spoon microphones in hand. The picture above was that same week. Sad to say that my moms baby sister on the back left is also in Heaven with Jesus so she and her Mama are already together whooping it up I am sure. (Oh and FYI my poor Mom who is front right was caught off guard in this picture she truly doesn't like having her picture made she would probably kill me for putting this out there in cyberspace.)
There are many things about Evelyn Martha that still make me laugh out loud and many of them were when she was fussing at me to do this or that or when I wasn't doing it "just right" like staining a fence, helping to can beans or peaches, pulling weeds in her garden, mowing her yard, etc. It was the way she would fuss and the look on her face. I loved to pull her leg in those moments, only to hear her say with that hand on her hip: "Sherry, you just love to get me going, don't you??" (smile) When I think of her even now I see, quilts, canning supplies, gardening tools, her favorite cookies (she had quite a sweet tooth) dress up clothes, her fur coat, pecan pie, and things too numerous to mention. I used to love to tease her by saying " I must love her a lot to go pick strawberries for her since I didn't like strawberries." And of course you would see that grin come over her face and that hand reach up to pat my face.
I will miss my Grandmama so very much but I have so many great memories of her so she will always be in my heart and my memories.

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