The past two weeks I haven't had much time to write. I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those one time bloggers. I can see how it happens, life happens. I may not write every week, but I will keep coming back. Two weeks ago my son came down with a very bad case of strep throat that landed him in the ER. Having a sick child at home got me thinking a lot about comfort food. And my last post, about my friend Cybele's Aunt Lillian had me thinking about honoring those that came before. The person who fits into both of these categories for me is my grandmother Mary.
Every summer when we were kids we would drive from Florida to Kenosha Wisconsin and stay with our grandparents for about 6 weeks. One of the strongest memories I have is when we would get out of the station wagon and step onto the grass. When you're cooped up in a car for a day and get out for the first time it's like you just woke up. Everything is crisp and clear.
I can see the grey creaky wooden porch to the white small two story house. My grandmother coming outside with those funny old fashioned black shoes she would wear. The grass with the dew on it. The dark blue sky because it was probably early evening and we had been driving all day. The clean fresh smell of the cool Wisconsin summer air. Growing up in Florida Wisconsin was like a foreign land. Everything was different, from the sidewalks we didn't have to the slender long green grass. In Florida everyone has sod, this weird thick carpet like grass sold in big squares. Thinking back to our drive I can't remember much, probably because I use to get car sick and my mother gave me dramamine the whole trip. I remember getting into the car and getting out in Kenosha with a few vague memories of motel playgrounds in between.
When we arrived the first question my grandmother would ask us is what would you like to eat? Whatever you asked her for she would make. I usually asked for a Lemon Meringue Pie and of course we all wanted Virtynis, Lithuanian Pirogies. My grandfather knew which mushrooms were safe to eat and would go to the field behind the house to pick them. Grandmother Mary would sauté them in butter with onions, salt and pepper to go with the Virtynis. The food was simple, but delicious.
I remember the apple tree in the back yard. The small wooden garage behind the house that never had a car in it and the field we played in with our cousins. I remember she always had a big box of Cap'n Crunch cereal for us and lastly the candy bars we would buy at The Ben Franklin Store down the street. Wisconsin even had different candy.
Gorgeous post. Simply gorgeous.
ReplyDeletebeautiful post and video! Who are the people in the last photo?
ReplyDeleteLiving in Kenosha and being second oldest of the 10 grandchildren I had so many visits with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Tony.I learned to appreciate show music from Grandpa.He had a collection of original broadway cast recordings of all the great musicals :My Fair Lady,Fiddler On The Roof,West Side Story,Sound Of Music,etc.He also shared his issues of National Geographic.The knowledge and appreciation of the arts stuck with me.I was on a 3 person team for St Joseph High School senior year on a televised Milwaukee area quiz show (for sr high students) called Who Knows?I was able to answer a number of questions from what I learned from Grandpa Tony and our team placed 3rd of 16 teams.Grandma Mary was always the loving hostess offering homemade treats and kind encouragement.Their tiny house never seemed small.I always looked forward to visits from my Florida family.Uncle Arthur and Aunt Delores were always so friendly and caring.I am quite a bit older than the 3 Benjamin girls so they would play with the younger cousins.Thanks so much Julia for sharing your memories.Cousin Mark
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing Mark. Now that we're grown the age difference doesn't seem very significant.
ReplyDeleteThe last photo is of my grandparents, two sisters and Jenny, the youngest of the cousins.
ReplyDeleteYour writing is beautiful! What a great piece.
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