Today would have been my grandmother's birthday. She was pretty awesome for an elderly broad; funny, loving, and a great head of hair. She was always there to tell you how great you were when you were down or make sure you didn't get too cocky when you thought you were the shiz.
As with most Jewish grandmothers, she made excellent chicken soup but hers had fairly dense matzoh balls, just perfect. One time she offered me orange juice when I was at her house and I declined so she explained that OJ has important vitamins and it is so much better than processed drinks, etc, etc. So I had a glass and it actually was quite good so I asked for another one, but she said "Oh not too much, it's very acidic."
Still, my favorite Mom Mom story of all time is about when she called my cousin who had just subscribed to caller ID. Knowing who the caller was, she picked up the phone with a "Hello Mom Mom!" My grandmother paused and said "So, you've got that new thing on your phone?" My cousin replied that yes, she had the service and explained how it worked and how someone could know before picking up the phone who was on the other end of the line. Mom Mom paused, then replied "so, can you see me right now?"
I really miss Mom Mom. She was my last living grandparent and I was able to know her in my adulthood. I picked her up for dinner most Fridays and we chatted about boys, jobs, life, traffic and lots of other things. For some reason, I still have not taken her phone number out of my phone though I know no amount of fancy caller ID will make that call go through anymore.
But I still think about her a lot. Sometimes when I put on lipstick (one of her biggest pet peeves - not wearing lipstick) I pause for a moment, look up, and think "So, can you see me right now?"
There was a grandma named Maryon
Whose soup was not so vegetarian.
She said "technology
Isn't really for me."
But, still, what a cute nonagenarian!
About The Plogger
- Alisa R.
- Dallas, Texas, United States
- I try to live every week like it's shark week. Here are some things I believe: hands are interesting but feet are a little sketchy, law school is the mental version of breaking a jaw so it will reset into another shape, it is OK for men to wear pink if they call it salmon, watching television is getting a jump start on next century's anthropology classes, if no dogs like you then you need to take a careful look at yourself. In summary, um, I'm just a gal trying to improve her writing.
2 comments:
I smiled when I read this. Then I cried a little. I miss her, too.
Mom Mom was definately a ring tailed doozer. Her husband (Pop) made her a "Feme Sole" in the 1940s. At that time in Texas, women had to have their husbands permisson to do almost anything like sign a contract or buy a car or stocks and bonds.(Oh how I miss the old days).
A "Feme Sole" was an emancipated woman who could completely run her own affairs and contract without anyone else's permission even though she was married.
Mom Mom was definitely emancipated alright. She was a liberated woman way before Women's Lib was in vogue. Her husband always valued and sought her opinion and treated her as his intellectual and social equal so he made her a Feme Sole.
(Being his intellectual equal was no mean feat either, he had 4 or 5 College degrees, but that is an other story for a different time.)
Mom Mom's most unusual quality (in my opinion) was her ability to judge someone's character in such a short time. Someone might be able to BS everyone else in the family, but not Mom Mom. She saw it like it was and told it like it was.
I went to a funeral recently and when I was at the cemetary, I went over to visit Mom Mom and Pop. Even these many years later, the pain of their loss was just as deep and overwhelming as the day they died.
I still miss her too. DAD
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