Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Always in my Heart

 
 Much of my thoughts have been on my Grandma Sansevero....Susie Sansevero....for the past few days.  I am not sure why.  Do you ever just suddenly find you are missing someone, even if it has been years (20+) since you have seen that person.  That is how I have felt recently.  I have wondered if it is because I have been watching many of the Soap Operas going off the air.  To many people this probably seems like no big deal, but this would have CRUSHED my Gram.  Well she would have been crushed watching all the early morning game shows disappear first.  I remember as a child the ritual of sitting down and watching Password, Jokers Wild, Tic Tac Dough, Price is Right or Wheel of Fortune in the morning as she crocheted and once we had challenged our brains sufficiently we settled into episodes of Ryan's Hope, Another World and Days of Our Lives.  She loved to watch her "shows".  And now as an adult (I am admitting this for all the world or at least the 5 people that actually read my blog) I LOVE soaps...I have been known to sneak away and watch a little bit of All My Children, One Life to Live or General Hospital.  So now, to what the era come to an end, I can't help but remember Gram and those moments of watching the programs with her.
 In that same mobile home that I was introduced to "over the top" soaps, there sat an end table that held a treasure trove of photos from the 1940s and 1950s.  There were these beautiful images of a much younger Susie; dressed up in fashions of the era-dresses, high heel shoes and beautiful hats.  I loved looking through those pictures.  I am sure that was the beginning of my love for things "retro"or "vintage".  She would tell me stories about what a fun lady she was back in the day and I could see that in the pictures.  I am so sad those beautiful pictures have disappeared and I am pretty sure I will never see them again.
So much of who I am, came from Grandma.  She was a card player.   She Rummy and Canasta.  I was playing Canasta when I was eight and LOVING it.  To this day I love playing cards.  She was a crafter of  sorts.  She crocheted.  She made doilies, blankets, table clothes, dolls.  I remember her giving me one of her crochet needles and some yarn and teaching me to crochet at a young age.  I don't crochet much now, but I am pretty "crafty" and feel good if my hands are busy.  She loved to sun bathe.  I know it is not PC to layout and bake yourself, but I still love to lay out on a lounge chair in the backyard and feel the sun on my skin.  This was an Italian woman that loved the food of her heritage.  I remember the kitchen on Christmas Eve being enveloped with the aroma of different seafood and fishy scents.  She made homemade macaroni (what we refer to as pasta) on the dining room table.  And even with her love of Mediterranean cuisine, she had an love for Chinese food.  YUM!! 
I am so grateful for the time I spent with Gram as a child and all she exposed me to and taught me. I still love her tons and hope I keep parts of her alive to my kiddos by exposing them to the things she introduced me to.

No comments: