Dear Birdies,: Small Town Charm

Last week my sisters and I made the trip to PA to visit our grandmother. We were able to celebrate her 80th birthday with her. Life, miles, and babies had gotten in the way of us visiting with her regularly; we hadn't seen her since June 2011. She had never met our youngest three girls. Due to some health problems and surgery she is no longer in her home. She is in a temporary rehab facility about 30 minutes from her hometown. The hometown she was raised in, married in, raised her family in, buried many family members in. A small hometown that I came to see the charm in during this visit. Pulling up to her house 14 hours after leaving my Knoxville home, I was flooded with emotion. Mostly remembering that things were just as they had always been. Her home looked and smelled just as I remembered it. The huge kitchen window where the sun shines through, the big benches we all pile upon and on which have shared multiple meals, the silverware, the dishes, the dolls. The little things I had forgotten. The children's giggles and counting in the distance at dusk- "Ready or not! Here I come!" The weather was cool and mostly in the 60s. The children played outside, went fishing, got dirty. Simple childhood memories that everyone should have.

When we got to the rehabilitation center Tuesday we thought it looked well kept and a nice place for my grandmother. My mom led the group of us holding my nephews' hands. I followed with O in the stroller and JA on my back in the Ergo. My sisters followed me, each with a baby on their back as well. When Grammy first saw my mom her face lit up! She said, "OH!! Melody is here!!" She quickly saw me and said, "OH Marissa came AND she brought her babies!!!" That's when I couldn't hold it together anymore. I was again, overcome with emotion. She was thrilled to see my babies and it was so special. I will always remember how she said it with such joy. As we trickled into her room she was beaming and greeting each child who had come a long way to see her. She was amazed at how many of us there were and how we each had a little girl hiding on our back. We visited in her room for a few minutes and then asked if she would like to go outside for a bit. I took the kids to a waiting room down the hall. There are 6 kids between my sisters and I ranging in age from 18 months to 10. We wheeled Grammy outside on the front patio. It was raining off and on that day and I did not prepare my 3 year old well for what was expected of him during this visit. Because of being cooped up in the van the day before and the rain, he had a lot of pent up energy and wanted to run it off. He kept running into the grass and ended up muddy and strapped into the stroller. During the breaks in the rain the kids went on a walk around the path leading to the musical fountain. The older boys were so helpful with the younger ones. Grammy got a good visit with my sisters that day, I was preoccupied with my two for a lot of the visit.

That night my Aunt Heidi came over with her kids. We got pizza and the kids played very well! I felt like Heidi knew my kids because of the way Facebook makes you feel like you know someone. But in reality, they had never met. It was a really nice visit just catching up on life and seeing her love on all our babies.

Wednesday Mom graciously offered to keep all the young grandkids while my dad took the older boys and two of Heidi's on a fishing trip. My sisters and I got to visit Grammy child free and that was PRICELESS! Grammy did miss the kids, she kept asking about them; but the quality of visit, for me personally, was huge! I got to sit on her bed with her and just chat! She opened the birthday present my sister's and I got her. The Good and Plenty's my mom picked up for her really got her smiling. She said, "Oh! someone knows what I like!!" :) Way to go, Mom!! <3

The stories Grammy shared with us that day are the main reason I have to blog this experience. They are just something I want to always have to look back on, and I want to share them with you. She talked about her childhood. About how her mother never learned to drive. My great grandfather tried to teach her by siting in the passenger seat and telling her to back up. She tried and ended up backing straight into the bank. She never tried to drive again. Grammy said she and her sisters would ride their bikes 6 miles to Beaver Meadows to play for the day, (which was where went fishing and was absolutely beautiful)! She talked about her dad working very hard to make a good life for his family. He was raised rather poor after his Dad chose to skip college when all of his sisters were college educated. His parents disowned him for not going to college and he only saw them one time after leaving home. My Great Grandfather was one of the first in Marienville to have a car. He met my Great Grandmother on a blind date where the ladies were surprised to see their dates had a car! Grammy told a story about her sister's cat that was one of my favorite she shared with us. Her sister Nancy had a cat that Grammy never liked much. The cat climbed up a pole in the center of town. No one could get the cat down and it was there for days. Grammy was in 6th grade and she asked a boy in her class what she should do to get the cat down for her sister. The boy said she needed a fireman. She said where do I get a fireman!? The boy said, "Well the Kelly Hotel, of course!" She very reluctantly went into Kelly Hotel. When she walked in a man said, "What are you doing here, Little Girl?" She said she was looking for a fireman to help get her sister's cat down from a pole. The man said she was in luck and he got some of his buddies together and they rescued the cat! Grammy made a point to say again she never did like that cat much but her sister was thrilled. She also wondered why her dad didn't do anything about it... Libby and I said he must not have liked the cat very much either. ;)

Grammy talked of marrying my grandfather. He was in the service and spent the first three years of their marriage moving around as he was in training. They lived in three different states; the only time Grammy ever lived anywhere but in Marienville, PA. Grammy returned home when Granddad was stationed to Germany. She could have paid her own way but decided not to. She went to live with her parents while he was away during the Korean War. After he was home from the war they rented an apartment that had a leaking ceiling. The landlord put up plastic on the ceiling to lead the water to the shower. She said they had to duck to sit on the toilet and it didn't take them long to realize they needed another place to live. That was when they decided to purchase a home of their own. They bought with the help of her parents, she said without their help they never would have been able to buy. Because of my great grandfather being raised poor he always worked very hard to make a good life for his family. He was a traveling salesman and sold brushes that Grammy said she still has somewhere. The first home Grammy and Granddad purchased is the only home they ever purchased. When I really think about that it is just amazing to me. It is so rare to have a childhood without ever moving. Every memory along the way revolving around that same place that has always been home.

My sisters and I have always loved to talk about birth so you know the topic was discussed during our visit. I remember Grammy saying with her oldest they kept her in the hospital for 7 days! Husbands were not permitted in the delivery room, nursery time was mandatory, and formula was the recommended form of feeding. Grammy asked about our kids several times during the visit. She loved looking at the photos on my phone from our visit at her home. We gave her a chance to say she needed a nap but she wanted us to stay. We just kept visiting, chatting, reminiscing, catching up. It was a nice, long visit that I cherish.

Thursday we went back with all the kids. We tried to plan our timing better for nap time and behavior meltdowns and it was better. Honestly though, Grammy wanted to see the chaos. We blocked the kids in her room and just let them down. They had snacks, toys, and their "cousin-friends" to keep them busy. Grammy watched and giggled. Her giggle is something I have missed oh.so.much. She just wanted to see them play, see them interact with each other! Isn't it special she just wanted the kids to be kids!? Near the end of the visit, two of the older boys went outside in the courtyard outside of Grammy's room. They entertained us with some awesome dancing that had us all laughing! We tried to make it a shorter visit as to not exhaust her with too many people. JA spoke her mind all week and yelled, "No! Don't wanna!!" at anything she didn't feel like doing. She said that several times when I asked her to talk with Grammy. I was scared Grammy would think JA was mean(!!!!) but I think she chalked it up as some bossy genes she probably inherited from my mom! :) JA did finally blow her a kiss, say "love you!" and "Bye Bye!". Oliver reluctantly stepped up to her bed with a short and sweet, "So how are you doing?" I was proud of him for doing something he was unsure of.

After our visit with Grammy, Libby and I followed my Dad to the river. We planned the visit with Grammy in-between two fishing trips that day. The boys have all inherited my dad's love for fishing and they don't usually get much fishing in when they are away from him. Libby was kind of forced into going because H's car seat was in my van; but I think she ended up happy she came along. We only fished about an hour and all the kids caught trout. Oliver caught four! I just can't pass up a chance for O to fish with my dad.

When we were done fishing, Q got in the van with Libby, the kids, and I and we headed home. We had directions from my dad to get back to Marienville but we took a wrong turn. Libby said, "Dad said to keep right at the fork but I'm gonna go left because this looks right." LOL! It worked out because we ended up driving by a restaurant called The Sawmill where we ate burgers, fried mushrooms, and chocolate milk shakes while the kids had hamburgers/hotdogs and ice cream cones. O, H, and Q sat three across in the back of the van and watched The Nightmare Before Christmas while they chowed down. That was a great little treat after another fun day!

Our visit was well worth the drive. It was not perfect, of course. Normal kid things happened but it was mostly very pleasant. Being back in Marienville as a mother and an adult was just different. I noticed the charm I had missed as a teenager. I understood the value of the home where my mom and her siblings were raised. I took in some details of the home I had forgotten about. I carefully catalogued Grammy as we visited. Just noticing her blue eyes and the laugh we had missed. We will make it a priority to go back soon. I really wanted to take the time to write down the details of our trip. I hope you find the value in it and that you enjoy the pictures that are to follow!!