Sometimes I remember things from childhood or I remember things told to me by my grandparents and I keep thinking I should write these things down for my children. They might not care about it now, but in the future, these are things they may want to know.
When I was a young teenager, my grandmother (my mother's mother) told me this story about how she and my grandfather met. It sounds like something in a romance fiction novel, but it is a true story.
My grandmother was born in 1900. Therefore, World War I started during her teenage years. My grandmother and some of her girlfriends made sandwiches and took them to the train station in a nearby town to give out to the soldiers leaving for war, so they would have something to eat on their trip.
A young solder walked up to my grandmother and said to her, "You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Will you wait for me?" She had never seen him before. She said she would wait, and they exchanged addresses, etc. and wrote to each other during the war. I remember asking her, "Why would you agree to wait for this man when you just met him?" She said, "Well, he was very good-looking, and I thought that since he was going away to defend our country, it would be impolite of me to refuse him!"
Of course, you can guess how the story ended. They got to know each other very well while writing back and forth. When he returned home from the war, they got married and, as the saying goes, "...lived happily ever after."
Here is a part of the story I think is most interesting. My grandfather was very much a romantic. When he returned from the war, he wanted to marry my grandmother on the very spot where he first laid eyes on her (love at first sight). In planning their wedding, they went to the next town (where the train station was located) to determine where the "spot" was where he first saw her. However, when they got there, they discovered that the train station had been torn down and a new one was built nearby. There was now a city park where the old train station once stood. With much thought and measuring, my grandfather calculated the spot where my grandmother stood the first time he saw her. A few weeks later, they met the preacher on that spot and were married there.
One other interesting tidbit: they had planned a private, intimate ceremony--bride, groom, and preacher. What they didn't know was that an "all day singing and potluck picnic dinner on the ground" was planned that day in the park. While my grandmother and grandfather were getting married that morning, people started gathering for the picnic. As people realized what was going on, they entered quietly behind my grandparents. When the ceremony was over and my grandparents turned around, they were very surprised to see a crowd of people, standing there quietly, watching them get married! Everyone applauded, to the embarrassment of my shy grandmother. My grandmother turned to her new husband and said, "Oh Howard, they saw us!" (I can still remember her expression when she told me this story--she was STILL embarrassed--as if people had seen them naked or something!) Then the newlyweds were invited to stay in the park for the singing and dinner. They stayed! My grandfather led several songs (he was a church song leader) and the people there shared their picnic lunches with them.
I just love that story.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
My Mother and Pajamas
My mother is 86 years old. Her father always wore pajamas to bed and her husband always wore pajamas. Therefore, Mother thinks all men ought to wear pajamas when they go to bed. There is nothing wrong with wearing pajamas; however, many men these days just don't wear them. Mother does not understand that. She somehow has gotten it into her head that it is vulgar to sleep in one's underwear (and she has never even considered the fact that some men may actually sleep "in the raw!")
The first time I married was back in 1980. I had a very large suitcase and my husband-to-be came over to the house with his things and we were going to pack for our honeymoon together in one suitcase. Mother was "supervising" the packing, so to speak, and when we were finished, she said, "Mark, you forgot to bring your pajamas!" (Okay, I would think pajamas are the LAST thing most men would consider when packing for their honeymoon! But, I digress....) Mark told her, "I don't wear pajamas. I sleep in my underwear."
My mother was absolutely shocked at that statement. "But what if there is a fire? ... What would you wear if you went to the hospital? ...Surely you keep an EMERGENCY pair of pajamas!" I don't think Mark had ever considered any of those options. It just was not a big deal to him. It was obviously a huge deal for my mother.
When we arrived at our honeymoon destination and opened our suitcase, there, on the very top, was a new pair of men's pajamas! They were the kind with the short pants and the button-up top. They were of a cotton print and the print had little cars all over in different colors! I'm sure Mother thought Mark wore those pajamas, but throughout our almost 18-year marriage, I don't recall that he ever wore them.
Fast forward to the year 2000. My husband-to-be and I were packing for our honeymoon. Mother was there again. Again, she said, "Robert, you didn't pack pajamas." (Talk about déjà vu! Here we go again!) Robert said, "I don't wear pajamas. I sleep in my underwear." Mother had the same reaction as she had 20 years prior. Again, when we arrived at our destination, there was a brand new pair of pajamas in the suitcase. However, these did not have little cars on them. They were light blue. To please Mother, at night time, Robert walks around the house in his pajamas. When we go into our bedroom and close the door, he takes them off. Mother is amazed how he is able to keep his pajamas looking like new!
My son is 24 years old. He has not slept in pajamas since he was a little boy. He sleeps in boxers and a t-shirt--usually a torn, ragged t-shirt. A few days ago, my mother asked me, "Have you noticed what John sleeps in at night?" (I should have known what was coming, but frankly, what he sleeps in is so far down on my list of important things, it is nonexistent) I said, "Mother, it just doesn't matter. If he's comfortable, its fine." As Yogi Berra once said, "Déjà vu all over again." "But...what if the house catches fire? What if he has to go to the hospital?" I just said, "Mother, don't worry about it."
A couple of weeks ago, Mother was in my living room and my son walked in. Mother said to him, "I have a surprise for you!" She was SO thrilled with herself. Sure enough, she handed him a package--a pair of pajamas! Just what every 24-year-old young man wants to receive!
The first time I married was back in 1980. I had a very large suitcase and my husband-to-be came over to the house with his things and we were going to pack for our honeymoon together in one suitcase. Mother was "supervising" the packing, so to speak, and when we were finished, she said, "Mark, you forgot to bring your pajamas!" (Okay, I would think pajamas are the LAST thing most men would consider when packing for their honeymoon! But, I digress....) Mark told her, "I don't wear pajamas. I sleep in my underwear."
My mother was absolutely shocked at that statement. "But what if there is a fire? ... What would you wear if you went to the hospital? ...Surely you keep an EMERGENCY pair of pajamas!" I don't think Mark had ever considered any of those options. It just was not a big deal to him. It was obviously a huge deal for my mother.
When we arrived at our honeymoon destination and opened our suitcase, there, on the very top, was a new pair of men's pajamas! They were the kind with the short pants and the button-up top. They were of a cotton print and the print had little cars all over in different colors! I'm sure Mother thought Mark wore those pajamas, but throughout our almost 18-year marriage, I don't recall that he ever wore them.
Fast forward to the year 2000. My husband-to-be and I were packing for our honeymoon. Mother was there again. Again, she said, "Robert, you didn't pack pajamas." (Talk about déjà vu! Here we go again!) Robert said, "I don't wear pajamas. I sleep in my underwear." Mother had the same reaction as she had 20 years prior. Again, when we arrived at our destination, there was a brand new pair of pajamas in the suitcase. However, these did not have little cars on them. They were light blue. To please Mother, at night time, Robert walks around the house in his pajamas. When we go into our bedroom and close the door, he takes them off. Mother is amazed how he is able to keep his pajamas looking like new!
My son is 24 years old. He has not slept in pajamas since he was a little boy. He sleeps in boxers and a t-shirt--usually a torn, ragged t-shirt. A few days ago, my mother asked me, "Have you noticed what John sleeps in at night?" (I should have known what was coming, but frankly, what he sleeps in is so far down on my list of important things, it is nonexistent) I said, "Mother, it just doesn't matter. If he's comfortable, its fine." As Yogi Berra once said, "Déjà vu all over again." "But...what if the house catches fire? What if he has to go to the hospital?" I just said, "Mother, don't worry about it."
A couple of weeks ago, Mother was in my living room and my son walked in. Mother said to him, "I have a surprise for you!" She was SO thrilled with herself. Sure enough, she handed him a package--a pair of pajamas! Just what every 24-year-old young man wants to receive!
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