01 September 2011

From the rising of the sun to its setting

This photo was snapped with my phone whilst driving over a bridge with my mom saying "be careful!" I couldn't get over the way the rays so vividly cut through the clouds. It was breath taking. I captured this on the same day we were going to visit my grandmother's grave. It was the one year anniversary of her death, August 20th. To memorialize her, we sat on a bench near her headstone and ate one of her favorite breakfasts: Hardees biscuits. (Her favorite was sausage, but Mom went for chicken and I skipped the meat, just egg and cheese please.)

Despite my mom's throbbing headache and a sweet, but annoying old lady who would not go away, we had a nice morning. It gave us at least a little time to reflect on the woman we loved and still love. Lately I've been reflecting on her more often. And so this musing took shape in the form of words on a screen...

On August 20th, 2010 Mammaw passed away. She was a beautiful woman in a spectrum of ways; a true southern lady. She wouldn't dare leave the house unless her hair was fixed and her stockings were on. A hard working mother, wife & friend, she gave of herself completely until she took her last breath.

She fostered my love for food at a very young age. Waking up to her frying eggs in bacon grease (in theory: disgusting, in reality: delicious) or skipping school lunch to have an egg sandwich will always be some of my favorite memories. And oh boy! could she cook a roast! Or fried chicken and gravy! or chicken pot pie! or biscuits! (I apologize for the punctuation overdose, but if you had experienced this food, you'd be exclaiming too!) Anything she set her mind to, she could cook.

Thankfully, she passed that trait onto my mother. Mom's forte is baking, but really if she were given the ingredients of the "Chopped" crew, she could whip up a tasty dish in 30 minutes or less. Drat! I'm making myself hungry!

She not only passed on the cooking gene, but the industrious one as well. My mother worked hard to help our Mammaw, forfeiting a job of her own and even time with her family to assist her as she aged. And the aging process was not always easy or graceful for Mammaw. However, she always wanted my mom to be successful at everything she did.

So I diverge a little to remind my mom of that; seeing that she started a new job this week (yay!). Mammaw may have been her biggest fan, but she is just one of many big fans. We're all rooting for her to succeed. And Mammaw would be to.

4 comments:

  1. I am happy that you had the time with your Grandmother that you did, Veronica. And I know that with the passing of barely one year, you and your Mother are still grieving. How nice that you found a gentle, comforting way to support one another through this difficult anniversary. *hug*

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  2. Thanks, Meg. I hope someday soon I can get that hug in person. =)

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  3. I haven't cried in months. I thought I had learned to control those feelings. Apparently, I was wrong. Thank you so much for your beautiful, kind words. Mom (Mammaw) was a wonderful, beautiful, patient woman. I hope & pray I live to see my family grow in love (and numbers) as long as she did and have the patience and understanding she had. I love you :)

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  4. Sorry I made you cry! I love you too!

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