Tuesday, April 19, 2011

109/365 - Storms and spoons

Two of the bazillion things that remind me of my grandpa: storms and spoons.
Tonight was a one of those stormy scary nights. Mom called and woke me from my nap saying that I needed to get in the bathroom. Before we could get off the phone I heard the hail and the winds. So off I went.
Nights like this remind me of grandpa. He was always outside. When the weather would turn bad he set up camp on his back porch. If it got pretty bad, he'd move over to our carport and send grandma to our basement. (we lived next door, btw). I knew it was a terrible storm if he came inside and even worse if he came to the basement. I always felt safe, even when mom was panicking, if the men were still outside. I miss that.
Now about the spoons. Gramps ate EVERYTHING with a spoon. When setting the table, we didn't bother to get him a fork. It would have gone unused. At the dinner table, that spoon was also a disciplinary tool. Chewing with your mouth open, WHACK! right on top of your head. Smacking? Whack! Refusing to eat peas? Whack! - I got that last one a lot. I'd cry, "but Paw Paw, I don't like peas!" He'd say "tough". If I whined again, yep you guessed it, Whack! then "now hush and eat your peas". I still don't like peas. My head hurts just thinking about it. ;) But, mostly, it just the heart that hurts on night like these.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, you've got me teared up over here. Your grandpa sounds so amazing, I wish I would have known him.
    I LOVE your story about the men on the porch and knowing you were ok. That's how it's been in my family too- as long as Dad didn't cry, it was ok, but if he did you knew the world was coming to an end as you knew it.
    I'm sorry your heart hurts on nights like these. I know my heart aches for my Grandma all the time and then certain things make it unbearable. I wish they were still here with us. At least we have good examples to follow for when we're grandparents. You better get your spoon skills honed in...

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  2. OUCH...I think that would really hurt. Great story about Grandpa. I'm sure he's somewhere happily whacking somebody. I miss mine too.
    Paige

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  3. Oooh, you’re such an inspiration. I love this blog!
    A asian soup spoons is a type of spoon with a large or rounded bowl, used for eating soup.

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