Chez Grandmommy

Now that I have lived for a while and have transitioned through to the grandmother stage, I want to play my role well. Part of that is letting my home be a comfortable, welcoming, accepting, even adventurous place for the grandchildren when they are here. For my little Thanksgiving visitors, I prepared by having some kid areas where I put some interesting things for them to discover, but really children are just curious about anything in what the older generation has accumulated. I thought my grandmothers' homes were the coolest places. When I was a child, my daddy's parents lived a thousand miles away, but we did make the trip through the mountains, over the rivers and through the woods to get there every year or two. I loved exploring their big, airy house with the cool dark cellar and the transom windows, and I now realize Gram probably had as much joy in this southern granddaughter's explorations as I did. Because of the distance, I didn't get to spend much time with her as we children grow up much too soon, but the older I get, it seems the more glimpses my mind shows me of her - the way she made gravy, the twinkle in her blue eyes. I hope my grandchildren will carry some happy memories of my home into the future with them. The memories and the family continuity can be something of a comfort.