I Like Strawberries Too - In Memory of My Grandma

Today, December 14, 2006, marks the 6th Anniversary of my Grandmother's death.  I suppose I express my feelings best by writing.  I won't make her into a saint.  Too often, when someone dies, everyone conveniently forgets their faults and that person becomes next to Jesus in nature.  But at the same time, my Grandma was a special person.  She was everything I could have asked for in a Grandma.

Grandma Ernie (Yes, that was her name - she always hated it - who knows, her dad did run a moonshine still...maybe that had something to do with the name) was the truest form of the matriarch of the family.  She had 6 children. 5 Boys (including my dad) and 1 girl.  She was very possessive of her children.  Even as adults, they were HER children.  Her daughters-in-law and son-in-law had to earn their place in the family.  How did they know they made it?  When Christmas came around, if there was a gift for them instead of for the couple.

Grandma Ernie could cook!  I never remember a meal I didn't like that she made.  Her specialties were fried chicken, and her Turkey/Stuffing/and Mashed Potatoes!  I've never had Mashed Potatoes as good as hers!  What was her secret? I asked a bunch of times.  Her advice? "Beat the hell out of them!"  I've come close, but I still haven't mastered them.

So, why did I call this "I like Strawberries too?" Honestly, I forget the exact story.  Grandma Ernie was hard of hearing.  Someone...my cousin, I think...said something to her, and her response was "I like strawberries too." The conversation had nothing to do with strawberries.  That was the butt of every joke for years to come.

I remember that Grandma had a wild side. At one family reunion, someone broke out the stick on tattoos.  People were putting them on their arms, their necks, their ankles.  When it came to Grandma's turn, next thing I know, she hauls out a boob.  TMI, Grandma, TMI!!!

If guilt trips were real vacations, most of her family (me included) would have travelled the world. She was the queen of the guilt trip!  One day, I decided to do a reverse guilt trip.  She was making me feel guilty about living so far away, so I made an unexpected reversal and tried to make her feel guilty for not keeping in touch.  Well, not to be out done, she started crying.  Well played, Grandma, well played!

Grandma's coffee was probably her trademark.  No one could visit her without partaking in her coffee.  It was the best coffee I've ever had and I can never replicate it! It was also so strong that you could stick a spoon in it and it would stand straight up.  After 2 cups, you were wired the rest of the week.  I won't accuse her of adding Meth, but...

Grandma Ernie was the true model of a homemaker.  There was always the smell of fresh baked bread or pies or cookies.  Her house was always decorated.  And she did this on a small budget. She wasn't a rich person when it came to money, but no one would have known.

Grandma Ernie was everything I could have asked for in a Grandma.  Yes, I got angry with her. Yes, she wasn't perfect. But, she loved her family. She loved her Grandchildren.  What more can a person ask for?