A couple of weeks ago my mom and Grandma Bieniek came to visit us. Liam enjoyed snuggles with his grandma and great-grandma, we had a nice dinner, and then watched my niece and nephew perform in a jazz concert. I love talking with my grandma because it brings back such great memories from my childhood.
I grew up living next to my grandparents' house. A skip, a hop and a jump from their doorstep. Growing up in the "country" meant that my brothers and I didn't have many neighborhood friends to play with. There were three other kids close by and they were all boys. The thought of playing with my two older brothers and three other boys wasn't always appealing. So when my grandma wanted to spend time with me, I jumped at every chance. I have such vivid memories:
When I was in half-day Kindergarten my grandma and grandpa would babysit me in the afternoons. I remember laying on the basement floor and playing with paper dolls for hours and hours. Going to the grocery store and getting to push the 'mini cart' alongside my grandma. We would walk down to their barn and feed the chickens and piglets. Sometimes we would pick rocks in the field. I'd watch Sesame Street on PBS, and occasionally the Carol Burnett Show.
During summer times I would run down the hill to their house and help my grandma pick pea pods and beans in the garden. We would wash them and I'd help "can" them in preparation for Winter.
On occasion my grandma would invite me to stay overnight. I would pack my pink pajamas and toothbrush into my little overnight bag, kiss and hug my mom and dad goodbye (as if I were traveling across the world) and run down the hill to their house. My grandma and I would sit at the kitchen table and play game after game of Kings Corners (it was pretty much the only card game I knew how to play at that age) and eat bowls of ice cream.
I would also sit and watch my grandma create wonders with her sewing machine. She would make teeny tiny clothes for my trolls (yes, trolls) and Barbie dolls. Can you imagine how difficult it must be to make itsy bitsy dresses and pants and socks for those tiny little things? Well, she did it. And she made it look so easy. She would make me a dress every year for Christmas. I would wear the dress for my school Christmas concert (it was a big deal to 'dress up' for those concerts) and then again on Christmas Eve. I couldn't wait to show off my beautiful home-made dresses at church. One year it was a silky, mauve colored dress. It made me feel like a princess.
Anyways...back to the story about my mom and grandma visiting a few weeks ago...
When they arrived at our home my grandma was holding her old sewing machine in her arms. And she brought it for ME! She had gotten a new machine quite a few years ago (with more bells and whistles). But she had saved her old one and told me she wanted to give it to me some day. Those memories...those times I would just sit and watch her sew for hours and hours....all came flooding back.
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| Here it is... |
Now if only I remembered how to sew! She taught me a bit when I was little and I took a sewing class in high school, but apparently that knowledge has left my brain. So, now I get to play around with it and figure out how to sew. Thank goodness for owners manuals. I think I can handle simple hems and stitches, but I wonder if I'll know how to make itsy bitsy clothes for Barbie dolls someday? The first sewing project on my list: curtains for our kitchen. To be continued...
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