Today would have been my grandmother's 104th birthday.....isn't it amazing how those dates and previous celebrations pop into your mind? As I thought about today being September 25th, I always remember Tata. Since most kids have crazy nicknames for their grandparents, my dad's mother was always, "Tata".....can't really explain why. Maybe it was a short way of saying "thank you" as a young child and the nickname became associated with her. After all, she did give me lots of memories.
For instance, we caught the city bus and rode to downtown Lynchburg on a Saturday morning. Tata loved going downtown and that was when downtown was the main staple for shopping. There was a Woolworth store that served lunch at the counter. They had bar stools and we climbed on those stools and had ourselves a toasted ham sandwich with lettuce and mayonnaise and a tall glass of Coca-Cola! It was delicious! Tata always bought me something at the Woolworth store to bring home. Sometimes it was a bottle of bubbles, sometimes it was inexpensive jewelry (you might remember the bracelet and ring set that had your birthstone in it) or it might be a set of jacks which we called jack rocks.
I also remember that Tata always had my birthday present in my hands on the actual day of my birth. That was a big deal to a kid. And when I married and moved to Idaho and later to Pittsburgh, Tata wrote me at least two letters a week until she experienced a stroke and then the letters slowed down. Tata's been gone since 1996. I still miss her so much. She was a fabulous cook and I'm still trying to figure out how to make those sweet potatoes rolled in corn flakes and her homemade cole slaw. Not to forget her peach icebox pie and prune cake...yep, prune cake that was out of this world!
I have a collection of her letters underneath my bed in a storage box. I can hear her voice when I take them out to read what she wrote to me years ago. I think today would be a great day to pull out that box and read a few although I suddenly feel the tears coming on.....I hope I'm that kind of grandma someday. Heaven continues to become sweeter and sweeter with each passing year. God bless, my friends. Have an awesome weekend.
For instance, we caught the city bus and rode to downtown Lynchburg on a Saturday morning. Tata loved going downtown and that was when downtown was the main staple for shopping. There was a Woolworth store that served lunch at the counter. They had bar stools and we climbed on those stools and had ourselves a toasted ham sandwich with lettuce and mayonnaise and a tall glass of Coca-Cola! It was delicious! Tata always bought me something at the Woolworth store to bring home. Sometimes it was a bottle of bubbles, sometimes it was inexpensive jewelry (you might remember the bracelet and ring set that had your birthstone in it) or it might be a set of jacks which we called jack rocks.
I also remember that Tata always had my birthday present in my hands on the actual day of my birth. That was a big deal to a kid. And when I married and moved to Idaho and later to Pittsburgh, Tata wrote me at least two letters a week until she experienced a stroke and then the letters slowed down. Tata's been gone since 1996. I still miss her so much. She was a fabulous cook and I'm still trying to figure out how to make those sweet potatoes rolled in corn flakes and her homemade cole slaw. Not to forget her peach icebox pie and prune cake...yep, prune cake that was out of this world!
I have a collection of her letters underneath my bed in a storage box. I can hear her voice when I take them out to read what she wrote to me years ago. I think today would be a great day to pull out that box and read a few although I suddenly feel the tears coming on.....I hope I'm that kind of grandma someday. Heaven continues to become sweeter and sweeter with each passing year. God bless, my friends. Have an awesome weekend.
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