Ok, I guess I'm pretty tender hearted here lately. If I hear one more story about a young man dying, I'm going to break down and cry!That reminds me so much of my Gramma Grace. She raised a family of "ear rubbers". Pull up a chair and pour a glass of tea and I'll tell you about it.
My beloved Gramma raised 13 children - only one a little girl. There were 3 sets of twins. I don't recall ever hearing her raise her voice, although Grampa could get kinda vocal! My biological dad and his twin sister were her very first babies. Gramma told Ken & me the story of them many times. Until they were born she didn't know there were two babies, they were born early, and they were so tiny nobody thought they would survive. When they were born Gramma's sister, who was also her midwife, wanted Grampa to take the babies to the nearest hospital. It was one of the few times Gramma ever defied Grampa. She was terrified that the doctors would decide they were too small and just allow them to die. She fashioned a sort of sling and "wore" them under her dress, one near each breast, so that they were kept warm and she could nurse them frequently. She would sit in her big rocker, stroke their ears, and pray for them while they slept. How heartbroken she must have been when my dad died in his 20's, after she sacrificed so much to save him.
She created an entire family of ear-rubbers! She would hold one of her grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, or great-great-great grandchildren and rub the exact same spot on the exact same ear of each baby. She didn't make a production of it-most people never noticed her doing it- she just held them and absently stroked that little sweet spot while she visited with the rest of the family. She told me that once, while she was holding Dad and his sister, Grampa teased her. "You're going to rub their ears off. Why do you do that?" She smiled at her thriving babies and quietly told him, "It's for those times when I'm not with them. I'm making a little path, so that when God talks to them, they'll be always be able to hear Him." We lost our special Gramma Grace June 26, 2010. She would have been 104 years old on her birthday, December 25th. She remained cheerful, alert and in full command of her mind until almost the end. She really didn't get sick, she just went home. What a wonderful woman she was, and what a legacy of
gentleness she left for all of her family. I know this is kinda long, but I just wanted to share.
2006 (I think) Me, Gramma Grace a few months from her 100th birthday and my granddaugher Katie, a few months before her first birthday. Yep, Gramma rubbed her ear too!
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Precious story!!That reminds me so much of my Gramma Grace. She raised a family of "ear rubbers". Pull up a chair and pour a glass of tea and I'll tell you about it. [COLOR=3E454C]My beloved Gramma raised 13 children - only one a little girl. There were 3 sets of twins. I don't recall ever hearing her raise her voice, although Grampa could get kinda vocal! My biological dad and his twin sister were her very first babies. Gramma told Ken & me the story of them many times. Until they were born she didn't know there were two babies, they were born early, and they were so tiny nobody thought they would survive. When they were born Gramma's sister, who was also her midwife, wanted Grampa to take the babies to the nearest hospital. It was one of the few times Gramma ever defied Grampa. She was terrified that the doctors would decide they were too small and just allow them to die. She fashioned a sort of sling and "wore" them under her dress, one near each breast, so that they were kept warm and she could nurse them frequently. She would sit in her big rocker, stroke their ears, and pray for them while they slept. How heartbroken she must have been when my dad died in his 20's, after she sacrificed so much to save him.[/COLOR] [COLOR=3E454C]She created an entire family of ear-rubbers! She would hold one of her grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, or great-great-great grandchildren and rub the exact same spot on the exact same ear of each baby. She didn't make a production of it-most people never noticed her doing it- she just held them and absently stroked that little sweet spot while she visited with the rest of the family. She told me that once, while she was holding Dad and his sister, Grampa teased her. "You're going to rub their ears off. Why do you do that?" She smiled at her thriving babies and quietly told him, "It's for those times when I'm not with them. I'm making a little path, so that when God talks to them, they'll be always be able to hear Him." We lost our special Gramma Grace June 26, 2010. She would have been 104 years old on her birthday, December 25th. She remained cheerful, alert and in full command of her mind until almost the end. She really didn't get sick, she just went home. What a wonderful woman she was, and what a legacy of[/COLOR] [COLOR=3E454C]gentleness she left for all of her family. I know this is kinda long, but I just wanted to share.[/COLOR]2006 (I think) Me, Gramma Grace a few months from her 100th birthday and my granddaugher Katie, a few months before her first birthday. Yep, Gramma rubbed her ear too! [COLOR=3E454C].[/COLOR]
It's so beautiful!! Someday I'm going to have a porch just like that. It may well be in Heaven but I'm gonna have one!The power of this group is amazing! Thank you all for your support. and for helping me begin to regain my faith. Our offer has been accepted - and baring any unforeseen problems - we are buying a house with a bunch of farm-buildings on 25 acres. I am offering extra seating on my-soon-to-be front porch.
Me thinks you've heard wrong!!
The correct quote is "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could"
Lessons we don't expect are always the hardest to understand, aren't they? Like finding out I was going to be a Gramma twice in one year at only 38 years old. Good Grief, God, what were You thinking?? But He knew I'd end end up raising two of them and I needed to be young and strong to get it done! My grandson Jamie (who is more like a son to us since we had him for most of his life) is now a Nuclear Reactor Operator on a submarine in the US Navy. We retired after 26 years in the Navy, so the goodbye maybe wasn't as hard on us as it will be on you. He's married and he and his lovely wife gave us our first great-grandchild a year ago next week. As my hubby said to me the day Jamie left for boot camp, "Be proud, Gramma - ya done good!" Be proud, Mom, ya done good!
Tee hee!
