Happy 91st Birthday

Grandma turns 91 years old today!

On Tuesday, December 17th, 1929 (33,228 days ago), my Grandma was the 5th of 7 children born into her family down in southern Illinois. Grandma has had such a huge & wonderful impact on my life over the past 40 years, I would like to share some of this feisty woman’s experiences, stories, and FUN facts!

I am going to start with a bit of history, well, no promises this history is accurate, but this is the vision I have of my grandma’s childhood and life. :)

To begin with, did you know that my grandma’s generation is known as the “silent generation”? I definitely did NOT know that, I had not ever heard of such, this SILENT generation was from 1923-1944. Okay, so my grandmother would not be mistaken as a “silent” woman, ever. In fact, the idea of her being in any category titled silent, makes me chuckle (or laugh out loud). It is not like Grandma is noisy, or loud, but if she has an idea, thought, or opinion, Grandma is not going to shy away from voicing such. She will not tell anyone, but she is the one who taught me to use my voice for good, to try to always remember that my words can not ever be taken back, and to try to think before speaking (clearly, I need regular reminders, but not Grandma).

Those I have known from this time or generation, they are good. Just all of the way around good people with integrity, love, and loyalty. My grandparents, my great aunts & uncles, my whole family have loved me at my ugliest as much as they love me on my good days. They have spoken their truth for decade after decade, it is so important to me that my family feel my love and gratitude.

When Grandma was 16, she moved out of her family home & up to Anderson, Indiana with my Aunt. This would have been in 1945 when WWII ended. From my understanding, this is when life in Anderson was very busy & active!

Not long after moving to Anderson, Grandma met Grandpa at the bakery where they both worked. They were married on New Year’s Eve 1946 when Grandma was only 17 years old. My grandparents have been married for 73 years now, have two daughters & 4 grandchildren. Things were so different then, it is difficult to imagine, we have so many modern conveniences today that were unimaginable in the ’50s, ’60s, or ’70s.

In the 1980s, when my brothers & I were young, our grandparents were extremely involved in our childhood! We thought it was normal, & the same in every family, for 3 generations to be at every choir or band show, soccer game, and marching band competition. We thought that everyone else’s grandparents were able and willing to drive 90 miles each way on a Tuesday afternoon/evening to watch their grandchild pick dandelions in right field of a softball game. However, this was not the norm. I have the best memories of my childhood and so many of those memories include this marvelous and feisty 91-year-old woman!

I was able to spend several months with my grandparents last year (2019) when I was 39 years old. {Brian- thank you for taking care of everything here at home while I had this wonderful opportunity}

I would love to tell you that I went home to “help” or try to help my grandparents or even my parents, but that is not the truth. I went home completely broken & in pieces after going through all of those surgeries and the very tough (for me) chemotherapy treatments.

Towards the end of one of my stays with my grandparents, I woke up in the morning to my 89-year-old grandmother cleaning these glass lamps from up on top of the hutch & Grandpa at 91 years old climbing up on the ladder cleaning the vent. YIKES!!!

I don’t know much, but I know that Aunt Vicki will NOT be happy if Grandpa falls & breaks a bone! So, me, trying to be the kind & thoughtful {bossy} granddaughter….

Me: Here! Let me help you with…

Grandma: **inturrupts me**

Now, Amanda! If I wanted them broken, I would have done it myself!

Me: Ummm??? Okay.

So, yes! Happy Birthday to my FEISTY Grandma! You are an inspiration to me! I love you, so very much!