Aunt Ruth, Uncle Ish, Grandmother Eula, Aunt Eloise, Uncle Clifford, Aunt Jean, and Aunt Snow. My great grandmother Laura sitting in front. Circa, approx. 1970
(Click on picture for an enlarged version)
On Sunday evening I received a call from my cousin letting me know her mother, my great aunt and the last of my paternal grandmother’s siblings, had passed away. Aunt Jean was one of a whole passel of kids that belonged to Herman and Laura Addington. She was 89 years old. Although her sweet husband, my Uncle Quince, is still living, her passing begins the closing of a chapter of life that holds precious memories for me.
When I was a child, all of my great aunts and uncles would gather together for family meals. There was always a mountain of incredible food….my grandmother’s chicken and dumplings, Aunt Snow’s chicken and dressing and chocolate layer cake were my favorites. Often, the family would gather at my parent’s home. After the meal was over, we would all gather around the piano and sing old hymns. When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, In the Sweet By and By, Standing on the Promises, How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace….the hymns of my faith, and that of my ancestors.
One of the quirks of that side of my family…and one that my Daddy and I inherited was the necessity of a good toothpick. I remember that there were always small containers of wooden toothpicks strategically placed so everyone would have one. I can still see my Grandmother Eula with a toothpick in her hand while she chatted with the family. In recent years, I found some amazing toothpicks that I purchased in bulk. Every time I pull one out, I think about how my Grandmother would have loved those picks. Yes, you might be a redneck/hillbilly if…..you like a good toothpick!
I learned many important life lessons from my Grandparents’ generation. My stroll down memory lane necessitates that I share some of them with you today. Please bear with me when I have to stop and wipe away some tears.
From that greatest of generations I learned:
- That faith in Jesus Christ is the most important thing in the world
- The value of a good toothpick
- How to make homemade chicken and dumplings
- The importance of always wearing an apron when you cook (I’m a very messy cook)
- How to make change without using a calculator (really, is there a person under 40 who can actually do this today?)
- The taste of a good hoop cheddar cheese
- The smell of feed sacks and oiled wood floors
- The value of hard work
- The importance of leaving a godly legacy for the generations that come behind
- The beauty of the grand old hymns of the faith
- The love of family
- The comfort of a feather bed piled high with quilts on a cold night
- The warmth of a wood stove
- The taste of sorghum syrup and butter on a hot biscuit
- Perseverance, determination
- A love of a good garden
- Honesty
- That my grandparents talked about spanking us for our childish fights, but rarely did
- Generosity
- That attending Sunday school, Training Union, and WMU were nearly as important as going to work, school, or church
- A taste for orange push-ups and fudgecicles
- How to run the cash register in my granddaddy’s feed store and grandmother’s ‘dry goods’ store
- That using an outhouse was just part of living in the country
- The medicinal value of Vicks Salve—it could be rubbed on or swallowed
- That being part of a Bible believing church was important
- That hard work never hurt anyone
- The necessity of having BAMA jelly jars to use as drinking glasses
- That it did absolutely no good to try and convince Grandmother to take the plastic covers off her fancy dining room chairs. (Yep, they were still on there when I inherited her dining room suite years after her death.)
- Early mornings are the best time of the day
- To love the Bible
- That the older I grow, the more I long for my REAL home in heaven
Much of who I am is a result of the time and love many in that generation poured into my life. I wish our son, Charlie, and my nephews, Parker and Coleson, could have known the beauty of growing up in that simpler time, where there were no cell phones, only party lines; no computers, only Etch-a-Sketches; no Facebook; only time spent playing outside with your friends. My prayer is that I will leave wonderful memories and a godly legacy for those who come behind me….just as the Greatest Generation did for me.
So, to those who have gone on ahead to be with Jesus I say,
I love you and I’ll see you soon.
