My grandmother is turning 90 on Monday. I think that’s quite an accomplishment to have lived that long especially with the descendants that she has. We’re…
Well, I guess the best way to say it is that we can provide lots of stress.
As a mother, I understand what it’s like to worry about your children. I cannot relate to how one might worry about grandchildren or great-grandchildren, or even great-great grandchildren, but I would imagine when I get to that point, I will worry about them as well. How can you not? They are a part of you?
So my grandmother… who has 3 children, 6 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren and 1 (or soon to be 1) great great granchild has seen a lot in her life. (And I think my numbers are right. I know the children and grandchildren are right and I’m pretty sure the others are right, too, but I don’t really keep track of my cousins except through what my mom tells me, so I’m not sure if there are any more grandbabies floating around.)
She’s lived a full life.
She really has.
And I?
LOVE my grandmother. Growing up, I called her Grandma Moore. But then, when my kids came along, somehow she became Mamaw. I don’t know how or why, but that’s what we call her today.
My children? LOVE Mamaw.
What’s not to love. She’s spunky. She tells it like it is. She doesn’t take crap off anyone.
She has phrases that we all love to hear and will repeat often in our own lives and those who don’t know Mamaw don’t understand the hilarity of it all. But that’s okay.
Up until a few years ago, she drove a Porche. She only took it out on Fridays to the doughnut shop and to golf. She’s still golfing.
But on Monday, she’s turning 90.
And for years, we’ve pointed out how old she is.
Like we’ve always told her that she was older than dirt. For years we’ve not known how much older than dirt you can get and I’m still not sure that we’ve figured it out.
A few years ago, while watching the Macy’s Day Parade, they announced that we were watching the 86th annual Macy’s Day Parade and Samara, shocked, yelled out, “Mamaw’s older than the Macy’s Day Parade.”
The great thing about Mamaw? She’ll joke along with you about how old she is. More often than not, when we comment about her age, she’ll respond with her hip cocked out, finger pointed out, and “Listen here, buddy.”
It’s quite comical but she’ll banter back and forth with the best of us and there’s nothing that she won’t take, as long as you don’t mind it being dished back.
We’re just an odd family like that.
So, my father, in preparation for her 90th birthday requested gifts to celebrate. However, the request came with one caveat — they had to be gag gifts.
Well, that’s speaking my language because I LOVE to make people laugh. I really had just planned on going to Spencers and picking up something insanely funny but as I was thinking back about the jokes that we make about Mamaw, including comments, inside jokes, etc., I realized that I had already made a play at Christmas for all of these things. I didn’t know how to top any, or make fun of something I hadn’t already.
Yesterday, it hit me.
I remembered how Samara noticed that she was older than the Macy’s Day Parade, so I decided to see what else she was older than. I found a website that listed things and I started in 1920 to see what was introduced, built, or invented and went from there. By the time I got to 1948, I had three pages of things.
Included on my list are scotch tape, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Yankee Stadium, many bridges, the Hoover Dam, Snow White, Betty Boop, Monopoly, daylight savings time, the polygraph machine and more. I took it one step further and made it into a book for her. I titled it “Older Than Dirt and Then Some… a Look At How Old You REALLY Are. Vol. I”
I called it Volume 1 because I stated at the end of the book that I stopped my research at 1948 because I underestimated how old she was.
My mother, when I told her of the book, laughed. We all laughed.
And I’ve accomplished something.
My grandma will laugh.
But not only that, she’s getting a gift from me, that I made, that I put time into, and that no one else can give her.
It doesn’t top the creativity of some of the other things I’ve done in the past, and I’m not sure how I will ever top those, but I do know this…
I’m REALLY proud of it…
But I’m REALLY going to be watching my back for the payback…
Heh.
{ 1 comment }
What an awesome gift idea!! I’m sure everyone will be envios of your creativity!!
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