Monday, March 22, 2010

What I Love About My Roots!

Picking cotton by hand.
Riding on the tractor.
My Uncle Mike letting me drive the truck when I was way too young to drive.
Walking down to the railroad tracks and putting pennies on the tracks.....going back the next day to retrieve my flattened pennies.
Hanging clothes on the clothes line and loving the way they smelled.
Collecting rocks for my Mamaw's rock garden.
Going into town on Fridays, so Mamaw could get her hair done.
Picking vegetables from the garden for dinner.
Shelling beans and peas.
Eating homemade peaches and cream.
Going to church on Sundays and Wednesdays.
Eating at The Sirloin after church on Sundays.
The house and farm that my Papaw built with his own hands.
Visiting my Papaw at the courthouse and banging the gavel....he was also the county judge for many years.
Driving into the adjacent city to go bowling.
Mamaw putting my hair into sponge rollers or braids on Saturday nights before church.
Building forts and playing Barbies with my cousins.
The best Easter egg hunts ever.
M-System....the only grocery store in town.
Cherry LimeAids from The HaTaHo.
The best corndogs in the world at The Corndog.
Reading The Bible with Mamaw.
Fishing with Papaw.
Taking long walks.
Never watching TV....they only had 3 channels.
Pizza Burgers.
Visiting relatives....on my mama's and daddy's sides of the family.
Riding Aunt Mary's and Uncle JC's two seater bicycle.
Playing with the neighbor girl....Cynthia....and jumping on her trampoline.
Singing songs on a tape recorder to send to Uncle Mike while he was in Vietnam.
Papaw dancing a jig.....and us laughing so hard our sides hurt.
Going to Skinny's to get a Coke.
Playing outside with lemon juice on my hair to "lighten it up naturally"....my Mamaw would say.
Shopping at Heidenheimers and Littlefields.
Going into The Soda Fountain and having real ice cream sodas.
Taking a bath in Mamaw's pink bath tub.
Mamaw rubbing my back and telling me nursery rhymes as I fell asleep.
Papaw tying my shoes so tight my feet hurt.
Dressed to the nines for church on Sundays.
Having family reunions at the High School.
Swimming in the biggest city swimming pool I had ever seen.
Working in the yard....tending to Mamaw's flowers.
Washing dishes by hand...no dishwasher.
Mamaw washing my hair in the kitchen sink.
Their little silver Christmas tree at Christmas....I LOVED it!
My Mamaw's vanity set and vanity.
Papaw's old desk.
Mamaw's Bible and all her notes in it.
Ice out of ice trays.
Learning about the love of Jesus.
Finding every note, letter or picture I ever sent them when Mamaw died. No wonder I'm so sentimental!
My grandparents are largely responsible for who I am today, and I am striving to live my life as they did. They taught me about The Bible and the love of Christ. They lived a full but simple life....were grateful, generous, and thrifty; and I always wanted to be just like them when I grew up. I adored my Mamaw and Papaw and wish, so very much, that I could take my own children to their farm to experience all the wonderful things I did as a girl, young lady, woman.

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