Influence of grandma
reaches all aspects of life
Even though my grandmother is 90 years old, and understandably having health problems, it's still sad to see the family's iron matriarch showing some rust. (Rust other than in her well-maintained red hair color, that is.)
Her heart is just wearing out, even after all her years of clean living. She's recovering from a triple bypass Sunday and the family waits minute-to-minute for a definitive prognosis. As a nurse who worked into her 70s, Grandma needs medical care for the first time in decades.
Most people easily list their grandparents among the most influential people in their lives, and that includes me.
Grandma's influence on me was huge, not only because I spent some summers and most Sundays at her farm, but because she was a woman holding her own in an era when meekness was expected.
My friends had grandmas with names like Millie encouraging them to get married, scatter doilies throughout their home and, for God's sake, start making babies. My grandma, whose name is Dorcas, doesn't believe in decorating her home (except for family pictures), thought men got in the way of careers and said having babies was just hard on the body.
While other grandmas were pouring sweets down children's throats (and she did that, too) she taught me to like green beans by feeding them to me like a baby bird getting worms from the mother.
Then she got me to eat hot cereal by playing "The Three Bears."
She's a woman of constant unique ideals that continue to fascinate me even though I should be used to them. She certainly doesn't follow one school of thought.
For example, she's a sweet, dainty woman in most of her mannerisms, but throws out a few curse words when political conservatives are on CNN.
She tends to assume people dying before the age of 90 were heavy drinkers or smokers. "You never know how people live," she'll say while paging through the obits. But at the same time, she frowns upon those who openly gossip.
She totes feministic ideals like Gloria Steinem, but talks about "family values" like Pat Robertson.
Growing up, I saw how she respected the printed word by saving books and papers and reciting verses she learned as a grade school student.
Always with an eye to health information, she kept me apprised of the benefits of soy and flaxseed before they made their way to store shelves.
"The baked potato has more potassium than a banana," sheÕd say every time I wanted seconds on fried chicken instead of potatoes.
She talked about how women get the short end of the stick, having to give to husbands in more ways than they receive. But she willingly cared for a bedridden husband with Alzheimer's for years after she could have put him in a home.
I don't know how I'd handle a traditional granny. Dorcas' strange and beautiful ways enter my mind daily and her presence is constant.
We're not sure how she's going to come out health-wise. But I know that influence from the four-foot-nine, 89-pound force will always be larger than life.
And I will continue to sing a little bird chirp inside when I eat my green beans.
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