I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my life and if what I
do makes a difference in the lives of others. It was a little easier to see if
I touched someone’s life when I taught school. I need to know that when I look
back on my life someday, I’ll have done everything I could to be the person I was
put on this planet to be – for others and for myself. Thinking about making a
difference in the lives of others always leads me to thinking about both my
grannies and the lives both of those ladies touched.
Granny CH could do just
about anything with her hands. How many times did I watch her create things of
beauty – from nothing at all? She would create a porcelain doll, from the
fragile head and hands to the clothes she was wearing to the hair on her head and
the blush in her cheeks. She would take
a piece of fabric and create a beautiful dress; she knitted blankets from yarn
and created a beautiful scene from a blank canvas. And she made the best treats
in her kitchen – homemade bubble bread, peach cobbler, fried okra, pot roast, fried chicken and my
favorite – sugar pies!
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| Granny, my two big brothers and me in front of her dress shop - she made that outfit! |
Granny Gray touched my life in a very different way. She
took me shopping. She was an example of
strength and independence – something a lot of women were not able to express
freely in her day. She encouraged me to do “my thing” even if it meant I went “against
the grain.” And she always, always sent thank you cards. And birthday cards.
And Christmas cards. And Valentines. And Easter Cards. I think she even sent
Halloween cards. She was an incredible example of acting on your promptings –
when she thought of you, you got a card from her a few days later. I know it’s
just as easy now to send someone a text, an email or to post on their Facebook wall, but
there’s something about receiving a card in the mail. Knowing someone took the
time to pick out the right card for you, to write a special note and put it in the
mail. When’s the last time you got a card in the mail?? Especially when it wasn’t
your birthday or Christmas?? Another thing she did that drove me and my
brothers absolutely crazy – that I’m so grateful now that she did – is take a
LOT of photos. She was always carrying that camera and asking us to pose for a
picture. I spent most of my time irritated with her and we have plenty of pictures
of Steve making a ridiculous face or doing something crazy because he hated
that she took so many. It made her so mad!
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| My mama and my Granny Gray - I'm sure a "thank you" card arrived shortly after |
Maybe it’s age. Maybe it’s just me being nostalgic. I want
to honor my grannies and what they stood for. What they still stand for to me.
I want to pass on the fruits of their legacies to my children and my
grandchildren. If I could make even half the difference in the lives of others that they made just in mine, I would feel that I'd done them justice.
Granny CH made a cookbook of her favorite (or our
favorite) recipes of hers , wrote a personal note inside each one and gave them
to her daughters and granddaughters for Christmas one year. I cherish that cookbook.
My attempts at the recipes don’t hold a candle to the real creations, but every
year my mom and my sisters-in-law and I do our best (my brothers have even joined in) and we
all compare our versions to each other’s and try to decide who came closest to
Granny’s version.
Now that Justin and Lauren have been out of the house for a
couple of years, I’ve had to text them both a recipe or two of mine that they
enjoyed growing up. Just sent Lauren my recipe for sweet tea this week (for the
third time). So I’ve decided this year I’m going to create my own cookbook, but
not just my favorite (and my kids’ favorite) recipes, but family favorites – my
dad’s, my mom’s, Kenny’s mom’s, my brothers’ favorites, my kids’ favorites that
they make, etc. Of course, I will include all of my favorites from Granny’s
cookbook. And I’m going to give those cookbooks to my babies, so they’ve got
the recipes for the love that Granny and the rest of the family sent straight
to their bellies when they were growing up. And, they'll also have the new recipes they’re
now enjoying. Then, I want to try them all out myself. Old and new traditions.
Carry on the legacy.
To honor my Granny Gray, for the next year (now through
12/31/2013) I’m going to do my best to send at least ONE written, heartfelt
card a day to someone I care about. Not only that, I’m going make those cards
personal by adding a photo whenever that’s appropriate. Check on me in a few
weeks and see how I’m doing!
If you want a card from
me, send me your address . ktplyler@gmail.com
