When I was growing up, there were things that you could count on when you were visiting grandparents. My mom’s dad always took us fishing! With cane poles hanging out the windows, we got in his white Chevrolet Bel Air, and off we would go. I was not a fan of worms, so Granddad Hill showed us how to make bread balls, and the fish loved them. We would attached red-and-white bobbing corks to the line, so we could see when we got a bite and would attempt to snag the fish. We would bring our catch home, and then mom would cook them. Later she confessed she bought fish sticks and passed them off as our catch, but we were so young we didn’t know the difference. What we do remember is the outing with all our cousins to the lake to fish.
When we got cleaned up and had dinner, Granddad always had an old-fashioned ice cream churn on hand with the homemade vanilla ice cream mixture ready to freeze. After dinner we took turns cranking the handle until the ice cream was frozen. We thought that was so much fun!
These are precious memories from trips to the grandparents. My grands today always expect certain things at our home. We tape old Gunsmoke movies for our grandson, and we have a movie marathon until late in the evening. It’s just tradition! Pajamas, movies, and popcorn.
Both of our grandkids know that when they come over, cookie baking is the order of the day. They know where everything is in the kitchen and begin pulling out the step stool so they can reach the counter. Today they are tall enough to reach, and the cookie tradition continues. When they were little, slice-and-bake would do the trick; now, the recipes have advanced a bit!
Things that kids remember today are the same things we remember from our childhood—time spent with grandparents doing what they enjoy. Activities become tradition when you realize how much fun it is to be together, and it just evolves into habit.
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One of my favorite memories is sitting on a stool in my Grandma’s kitchen eating her homemade bread with lots of real butter and peanut butter. She would make us a cup of coffee (milk with a smidge of coffee and a bit of sugar) to dunk our sandwich in. It made me feel so grown up and special.
Dear Phyllis, it’s amazing to be able to look back on your life and to be able to remember special times with your Grandparents! At the time they don’t seem very significant. It’s when you are older and you sit down and look at pictures and reminisce with your Mother or even your own children or grandchildren that they become sooo special! I can still remember going to my MeeMaw and Grandaddys house and spending the weekend and then going to church with them on Sunday! My Grandaddy led the singing and my MeeMaw played the piano at a little country church! They would always sit me and my cousins on the front pew so they could keep an eye on us! I think that is where I got my love for music and singing those old hymns and gospel songs! MeeMaw was also a great cook! She could make the best pound cakes! Well, everything she made was mouth watering! It was always a treat to come in the house after church and smell her good food in the oven! She always wore an apron! And we all helped her put the food on the dining room table! Mmmm! I can just taste her good cooking now! After eating and the table was cleared and the dishes were washed, dried and put up we would all gather around the piano in the living room and sing the day away! MerMaw would get the old Broadman Hymnal out and we would all sing those wonderful old hymns! I now have 6 grandchildren of my own! I hope they will also remember the special days we are able to spend together singing and dancing and having fun!
Dear Phyllis,
How beautiful your grandkids are! You are so blessed.
I have fond memories of visiting my grandma back in Managua, Nicaragua . She had a small grocery store and she would let me help the customers. She would stand next to me to help me make change. She would always give me candies.
I have so many wonderful memories of her.
Thank you for making me think about such a sweet lady.
Lucy
Phyllis, You are truly blessed – as are all our Ribbon Friends who are creating memories by sharing wonderful times with their grandchildren!
I have many fond memories of times spent with GrandMother – including snacks with her after school before my parents finished their work day. Fried baloney & mustard on white bread! Mother and Daddy were both great cooks; but, her pea salad and bananna pudding were delicious. And, nobody’s macaroni and cheese topped GrandMother’s. It was always fun to “help!”
Well ladies and friends I think I can give you a true happening that happened just today with my grandson who will be three in August. I have a garden hut and it has a wooden ladder leading up to the loft. Well we made it up there to read stories and then decided to come down. My foot went down on the first rung of the ladder and then “SWOOSH” down slid the ladder and boy and grandma were stranded up there for two and a half hours till grandpa finally came checking on us! We read stories, played word games and dressed a dolly in six different outfits; all the while praying for someone to come check on us and whooping like Indians !!!! We tried to make enough noise hoping and praying someone would think of us!!! It actually gave me a very helpless feeling to be stranded up there! I couldn’t jump down as I broke my back eight months ago…. so that was not an option!!!! Oh my, what memories we made just today. I have nine grands so have made many other memories heretofore!!! Your post brings lots of memories!!! Thank you!
You will talk about the adventure YEARS from now!
That Swoosh was quite a blessing in disguise!! You may have to do it eight more times!!!
Oh, how I loved my Mema, from Savannah! She was so sweet and cooked just like Paula Deen. She was the type that could mix up mud and grass and make it melt in your mouth. Her Southern Fried Chicken was the best! I don’t remember seeing her measure much. We chopped up pecans, shucked corn, and shelled peas, but I never remember her specifically teaching me how to make anything. She was sickly and would cook and then go sit down and rest. Her hands were beautiful and she always wore red nail polish and would let me paint her fingernails, which I loved doing! I just loved talking to her, spending the night with her and Grandaddy, and I still think about her often! Grandmothers are one of God’s best blessings!
Dear Phyllis,
You do have beautiful grandchildren!
They sure have grown. They are so
fortunate to have you as their grand-
mother and must adore you. Baking cookies is so much fun. You are making such wonderful memories with them.
I have such cherished memories with my Gram. She was a phenomenal Italian cook. The simplist things like scrambled eggs were fantastic.
A favorite memory I think of every Thanksgiving is when we went to Grandma’s house and waiting were the most wonderful smells when we walked into her house. We literally went “ Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go…..”. Thank you, as always, for
making me smile.
When my twin grandchildren were about 8 years old, I introduced them to “I Love Lucy.” The three of us watched many episodes together and we all laughed so hard watching Lucy and her antics. One Christmas they were so excited to give me (Mimi) the entire “I Love Lucy” series of DVDs. Hooray for those wonderful old programs–so much better than what is produced today, in my opinion.
Just today finished “building” a tent using the sofa throw, the sofa cushions and the ottoman! It was a work of art! Before it caved in of course. My grandson filled it with all of his stuffed animals, but was not keen on allowing his one year old brother in. It is a wonderful feeling to know every time he comes to see me, he wants to stay and spend the night. Breakfast is always pancakes and yes, we made cookies last week, well not exactly, they were already sliced and all my three year old grandson had to do was plop them on the baking sheet.
Cherish these years, they go by so quickly.
The first Christmas that our two granddaughters were old enough to walk, we purchased them each their own white chef’s apron to decorate with fabric paints. Papa helped them by painting their first initial monogram and I sat back and enjoyed their interaction together.❤️
I love making homemade applesauce with the girls at age 3. It is simple to make and they love cutting up apples to throw into the pot (if they aren’t eaten first). It is such a blessing to cook with them and share this time together.
I loved with all my heart my maternal grandmother. I knew when I got to her everything was going to be alright. My mother never made a cookie or a pancake in her life but Mammie did, the name she had all children call her. I would beg to spend the Summers with her and she made biscuits the size of saucers for breakfast, homemade applesauce and fried fatback on her wood stove. You could count on her having a plate pilled high with Apple Jacks in the refrigerator made with her biscuit dough and apples she dried on the tin roof on the front porch. Nothing on this earth taste like hers and everybody knew she had them ready to fill up hungry stomachs. She and Jesus are the reasons I’m looking forward to arriving in my Heavenly home.
We lived near to my maternal grandmother and sometimes I would spend the night with her, and while I was there, she would curl my hair in those really long ringlets like little girls used to wear. She sewed for me and made matching outfits for my dolls. It was sort of like the “American Girls” dolls of today. Unfortunately, she passed away when I was still very young. But at least , I knew her long enough for her to make a huge impression in me! She was an amazing woman! She was a really good cook, too. I think I got my love of sewing from her, (and my mom, too, of course). Family is such a treasure.
Our grandmother moved across the country when we were about three or four. We saw her again when we were 9 because we went to California to visit. She was sick and died shortly after our visit her. We only stayed one day in California because Marion had an asthma attack. We only remember our grandmother coming to our house in Brooklyn shortly before moving to California. She brought a chocolate cream pie and we remember it falling on the floor. She did send us a lovely jacket when she visited Tijuana. When we were born she crocheted a lovely sweater set and had to make another one overnight when she learned that our mother had twins. She did send us gifts and presents for our birthday. It is sad that we were too young to really remember her much. Our older sister Joan does tell us things she remembers from our grandmother. Our other grandparents died before we were born. Your grandchildren are beautiful and are blessed to have you as their grandmother.
Marion and Marilyn
Oh, what a touching story you had! Your grandmother sounds like she was lovely. I, too, lost my grandmother when I was very young. I was six, but I got to spend a lot of time with her until she passed away. She, too was a lot younger than I am now. It is amazing how strong our childhood memories are, isn’t it? A song, a scent, a food will all signal a special memory.
As a child I always enjoyed visiting my maternal grandmother. She mad all my costumes for the school plays, made a St. Patrick’s day outfit. These were made of crepe paper. When she lived in Brooklyn the EL train passed by her window. I would sit on her lap and wave to the people on the train.At Christmas she would have a pile of presents wrapped in white tissue paper and tied with red ribbons. The gifts were handmade, clothes for my dolls and assorted other things. She always had chocolate pudding for me and made delicious cupcakes. She would show me her beautiful sun flowers she grew on the roof. My grandmother had a green thumb. She is the only grandparent I had since the other three died before I was born.
Joan
My Grandmother Pauline owned a candy shop where ladies would come and play cards, too. I would get to go behind the glass cased candy counter and pick out a treat while I visited. My favorites were dots on a paper strip or candy violets. We still have one of her red card tables and chair in our home serving as a plant stand!
What great memories and traditions you are making with your own grandchildren! {They have grown so much!} One of the things I remember most about my grandparents is the beautiful dinners we had at Christmas, I try to emulate that as much as possible with our own little people.
We’ve added traditions along the way, the Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch, Opa’s birthday bbq and Jeau de Boules tournament, making dinner together, and sleep over fun, to name a few. BEST thing to do with grandchildren is everything!! xo Lidy
Oh my goodness…my grandfather used to watch Gunsmoke and I would build my pretend fences for my pretend horses!My most vivid memories are my grandfather and me running to buy vanilla ice cream from the ice cream truck, baking banana cake with my grandmother, watering her geraniums and roses, and spending 2 weeks at a country resort every summer with both of them. I was very close with my grandparents and I think about them every day and miss them dearly.
Fish sticks – that is so funny! I love to make those memories/traditions with my grandkids so they will have fun stories to pass on to their families!
I will always remember Mammaw Hill frying potatoes to make us French fries whenever we there. We ate them as fast as she cooked them.
I love Aunt Nez’s fish story.