Reminiscing

The past few days I have been really focused on trying to get some of the books read that I have been referred. We are at the initial stages of some very basic sleep training and need all the advice and counseling that we can get! TRUST ME…..we (I) have absolutely no idea what we (I) are doing!!! And it just got me to thinking and wishing..longing for my grandmothers!!! My mother’s mom was known as Granny and my dad’s mom went affectionately by Momma Mae. Granny raised 11 kids, two of those being a set of twins, and managed just perfectly without all the Parenting books, advice chat rooms and websites, and certainly without all the modern day MUST HAVES that you can find down the 101 isles at Babies R US! HOW IN THE WORLD DID SHE DO IT? I mean…she didn’t have a Boppy or a Bumbo and didn’t have any Dr. Brown bottles! What did she do without the Night and Day Bottle Warmer or the Eddie Bauer Soothe & Sway Play Yard? I wish I could just sit down with her for 1 day and have her pour into me all her parenting knowledge. How did she know what to do when?



This morning I was sitting in my breakfast nook and I have a very old wooden curio cabinet that we have used to store some of our favorite heirlooms on. My eye first caught a smallish 5 tier, silver candelabra that was placed at the front of the 2nd shelf. It’s funny how just a glimpse of some object can bring a wave of emotions. When David & I got engaged, my Granny was bound to a wheel chair and had not been getting around very well. Since most of my family is from a small town in East Texas, Palestine, we had chosen a little local store to register in for our home-town shower. I remember my mother telling me how cute my grandmother was. She insisted that my mom come get her and take her so that she could pick something out herself for me & David. My grandmother came from an extremely humble background and had always had limited resources. My mom said as she pushed my grandmother through the store she inspected all the items very carefully! When she came to the candelabra, she knew right this was it. My mom cautioned her that it was a little pricey but Granny dug through her purse and purchased the gift with love! I miss her so very much! I wonder what she would think of Brayden, what advice she would give.


Two shelves down is a shelf that has a set of a very old Sliver Tea Pot and Serving Set. This is from Momma Mae. It reminds me of what a servant she was her entire life. It was very rare to go for a visit that she wouldn’t be loading your arms up with things as you were walking out the door. Seriously, she would have you walk through her house and she would say “Now sweet, don’t you need this mirror at your house? Well, what about this little crystal squirrel. I found this at Tuesday Morning’s and I would love for you to have it!” I have never met anyone in my entire life that put others before themselves like Momma Mae.


These two women gave me such beautiful examples of the selflessness that Christ calls us to. There are so many other vital attributes that these two women taught me as a young lady. I pray that as Brayden grows up, I won’t be so caught up in the latest Baby-Must-Have or the Parenting-Must-Do that I forget to teach him the things that I learned from my grandmothers.