On the 22nd anniversary of the day Mimi died....

Every generation has its child-rearing anxieties, but in my grandmother Mimi's childhood the world and its challenges were more survival-oriented, less attentive to the needs and whims of children.  No screens to worry about back then, no bullying--at school at least.  No vacations or birthday parties, no parents trying to be sure she got a bigger view of the world--only school, church, family, and tending the farm.

Mildred was orphaned at three,  lived in an orphanage from the age of 3 to the age of 7, and when she was finally adopted--had a mean stepmother.  All her siblings, older and more capable of helping out with household and farm chores, were all adopted long before she was.

Her step-parents forbade her marrying Basil, her first love.  Lucky for all her children and grandchildren, however, she married Papa and they had five children: Bob, Carlene, Richard, Dot and David.  (Whenever she mentioned Basil, I used to wonder who I'd have been if she'd married Basil instead of Earl--though of course this-I wouldn't have been anybody.)

Papa had a wonderful stepmother, Cana, who loved Mildred and who was beloved by all their children and all the neighbors in Perry.  She was my mother's favorite grandmother, as Mimi was mine.

Mimi and Papa's  farm house burned down, and they rebuilt it.  Bob (Carlene's three-years-older brother) died of a brain tumor at the age of ten. A few years later, David was born.

She had cancer in her fifties, she fell and broke three of her four limbs in her seventies, but Mimi lived a healthy life until she died at 97.  She was resilient and unstoppable: funny and optimistic and the sweetest person I've ever met. I never heard her say a harsh word to or about anyone.

Mimi--and so many strong women of her generation--would have been enigmas to Dr. Spock and other experts on child-rearing who wrote books on the subject in the fifties and sixties.  Everything that could go wrong in a child's life did go wrong, yet she was amazing and unforgettable.  She left a big heart-shaped mark on everyone she loved.

About thirty years ago

Pure Inspiration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ3jXYAfwOk

Lloyd Harris

Here he is, my sweet daddy!  I took this picture with my iPhone--the one framed on the wall that inspired Elena to catch fish.

Fish on stringers

In my house, there is a framed black and white photo of my daddy holding up fish just like this picture of Elena in Colorado.

When everyone else went looking for a waterfall, Elena stayed with her daddy and the two of them fished in a high mountain lake for hours.  Will said she was very intent on fishing and wanted a picture of her holding their fish on a stringer "just like Granddaddy."

She said, "I'm just glad Granddaddy could be there because you know he saw us catching those fish!" Will said it was one of the best days of his entire life.


I don't have a digital photo of Granddaddy to include with this post, but here's one of her daddy:

Illusions of Immortality

This afternoon I was awakened by the sound of the Fed Ex man ringing the doorbell at the exact moment I got a text from Day thanking me for the origami paper I'd sent her.  (When you divide your stash or send samples thereof, and put it in a box and mail it, it's called Happy Mail.)

We love fabrics and paints and papers so much--and I opened my 12 little pots of Dylusions paints with glee.  Maybe that's how a cook feels when she buys exotic ingredients or how a knitter feels when she goes to the yarn store?

The colors are named Crushed Grape, Lemon Zest, Cut Grass, Postbox Red, London Blue, etc.--all summoning flavors and places, all delicious.

So even though I vowed not to order any more art supplies from Amazon or any more stencils from Stencil Girl, I broke my vow.

I have decided that having a rich supply of colors makes me feel almost immortal because I'll have to live a very long time to use them all up! So be it.  I'll take that.

I'm reminded of how I feel when I visit an artist's studio--Nellie's or Joy's or Barbel's--and how full of possibilities a room feels when it has lots of well-used brushes and paints.  Even if you don't want to start painting, if you want to put stretchers on your imagination, buy some colors--and voila!  You'll feel that rush of excitement you used to feel on Christmas morning.