This is going to be a long one-but it's something I have to do...
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Christmas parties, crazy travels, and shopping-I can't help but feel the need to take some time to dedicate to my wonderful grandfather.
Christmas day '08 would have been my Pa Paw's 93rd birthday. (He was born Dec. 25, 1915, in Arvada, Colorado.) As I've mentioned in a previous blog, Pa Paw was a wonderful man-loved by many...especially his family. He passed away this year on Oct. 14, '08. My grandma (Vera Faye Bennett) preceded him in death July 13, '07. They were married over 66 years-a true love story!
Pa Paw and Grandma lived on their farm in Solo, MO. (And, don't even try finding it on a map...let's just say this-my dad, his brothers, and his sister really did walk over 2 miles to school every day, up-hill, in the snow, etc. And, I've seen the "school house ". It's about the size of my living room. They lived in the heart of the Ozark country-side.) The modest farm house (with a kitchen, family room, laundry area, and 3 extremely small bedrooms) housed 7 people, and for a long time, had an out house serving as a bathroom. A huge update included adding a bathroom inside the home. As modest as the home was-it was filled with love. I remember going there as a child and teenager (before they moved to Ash Grove, MO to have assisted living). I remember...
- All of my cousins, aunts, uncles, Grandma, and Pa Paw enjoying home cooked country meals (thanks to all of the ladies who worked hard in the cramped kitchen)
- The kids taking turns swinging on the swing made out of an old tire in the front yard
- Getting called up to the kitchen and asked to "fetch some vegetables from the garden" (yes, I said "fetch") or to "run down to the storage area" where my grandparents kept their homeade preserves
- Squeezing into the small house with the entire family and eating together (but not until after my Pa Paw said a reverent prayer)
- All of the kids taking turns churning the homemade icecream maker before we devoured every last bit
- The men and boys playing basketball on the grass with the worn out basketball goal
- And if we were lucky-seeing "Dummy" out in the pasture (my brother, Ryan's, favorite of the cows).
When it got late, we'd light the stove, cram in the family room, listen to stories, and play marbles-that's right, marbles. Then, Grandma would inevitably challenge one of the grandchildren to a game of checkers--where she always won...even in her 70's. When we were really young, all of the girls would fight over who got to brush Pa Paw's hair or color with him. There were so many of us that we would literally have to stand in line. But, it was so worth it. Pa Paw was so great. He was calming, giving, and sweet. I never knew, as a child, that he was in a tremendous about of physical pain. He never complained. He lived for his family and most of all, his wife. Pa Paw was a hard working farmer and employee of the Missouri State Highway Department in Carpentry Special Crew. Saying that he "worked hard" is an understatement. He came from little and labored in order to provide for his family. My dad, uncles, and aunt still tell stories of Pa Paw getting up each day around 4:30am, feeding the chickens, milking the cows, etc before driving 30 miles to work in Willow Springs where he put in a full day of manual labor for the Highway Department, then driving home and working on the farm until after dark. I know that it all sounds a little "old-fashioned". And, it was. My grandparents continued to live the simple life all throughout their existence. It was wonderful...and humbling. I loved being in that house. Besides, who wouldn't? It had been the home where they lived until 1996. So many memories took place in that house.
My dad was born in my grandparents' bedroom...my grandmother was all alone...my Pa Paw was on his way to get medical assistance and didn't make it back in time.
I am so proud of my Pa Paw and my Grandmother. They've passed down to my immediate family an absolute love for God, the importance of serving others and making family a priority, an appreciation of "material things", and an innate work ethic. I'm happy to not have "come from money". I've learned a lot more from a family history of true hard work.
To Pa Paw and Grandma Miller-who I know are looking down on us from heaven-our baby would have been your 23rd or 24th (my cousin is also pregnant) greatgrandchild.
She will know all about you, I promise.
Grandma, Pa Paw, Ryan, and me
