When I think of Grandma Beckmann, I think of dancing trees, roadside clean up, her enormous station wagon, grapefruit, Easter crafts, weekend sleepovers, old school curlers, raspberries, and amazing food.
Dancing Trees
I remember Grandma always pointing out the beauty of nature like the crimson sumac and what she called "the dancing tress." Grandma thought that evergreen trees looked like they danced when they blew in the wind. And blow they did in the open farm land where she lived:) As a kid I would often think "yeah, yeah, the trees..." and would quickly shift my thoughts elsewhere. But today I think of Grandma often when I too notice the dancing trees and beauty of nature around me.Roadside Clean Up and Grandma's Station Wagon
I don't know what motivated Grandma in this initiative -- maybe she was a "green thinker" before her time, maybe she wanted to cash in the spare change we'd collect from recycling the pop cans, or maybe she was just looking for something to occupy the grandkids:) Either way, I recall cleaning the ditches around my grandparent's farm on several occasions. We'd drive along the gravel roads in Grandma's station wagon (first her smaller blue one, later her enormous woody wagon) cleaning up trash and collecting pop cans from the ditches along the fields. I don't know if it's a direct correlation, but I am a very adamant recycler today...maybe Grandma planted the seed:)Grapefruit
I only remember eating grapefruit at Grandma's house. I remember she had bowls that were the perfect size for the grapefruit to fit when they were cut in half half:) I don't eat grapefruit much as an adult, but every time I do, I think of breakfast at Grandma's table.Easter Crafts
Technically this should be singular since I only remember one Easter craft in particular, but man did it make an impression on me. Grandma had gotten these styrofoam eggs that had flat bottoms so theycould stand on end and had one side carved out so they looked like they were meant to display something in it. She had little things we could glue on our sytrofoam egg and I remember diligently gluing beads on my egg to decorate it. For years to come after making this craft, I was always so proud to display my decorated egg with our Easter decorations at home and I fondly remembered that day crafting with Grandma.Weekend Sleepovers and Old School Curlers
We spent a lot of weekends as a family at my grandparents when I was young. It was important to my parents that we have relationships with our grandparents and my dad also enjoyed the opportunity to help in the fields or on tasks around the farm. I loved the coziness of Grandma and Grandpa's house after dark. Since they lived in the country, they didn't have curtains on the windows in their main living area and it felt like the darkness enveloped the house. It was also the time of day that guarranteed everyone was in the house together. (We always lived in town so the darker night intrigued me without the street lights, etc casting a glow.)Grandma never required much sleep. She'd still be busying herself around the house as the rest of us would settle in to watch the local news and Johnny Carson. Since we usually stayed weekends, Grandma would typically wear curlers to bed Saturday nights before church. About the time we'd all be heading to bed, she'd settle in at the head of the dining room table with her old tin can filled with old school curlers. The tin can was probably filled with coffee grounds long ago, but now its rim was lined with hairpins. I always wondered how Grandma slept in those curlers, but then again...Grandma never slept much.
Raspberries
More specifically raspberries direct from Grandma's garden in a bowl with half and half cream and sugar to taste. My mouth is watering as I type! This was a summer staple at Grandma's house and is still one of my favorites to this day.Amazing Food
Grandma could cook. Period. She typically did not use recipes, she cooked horribly unhealthy by today's standards, and it always tasted amazing! Her mashed potatoes melted in your mouth, her baked beans were the best I've ever had, and she made my dad's all time favorite dish: mandarin orange salad (once again, not healthy...it was actually a jello "salad"...no lettuce involved;)). This had nothing to do with her cooking abilities, but I also remember that, with every meal, the dining room table had a small plate stacked high with Wonder bread. Intended to be slathered with butter (Grandma wasn't acquainted with margarine) as a hearty addition to anything she served.Grandma had six children and thirteen grandchildren, but most all of the memories above, I think of just Grandma and I. I know that most likely was not the case, rather I think she had a quiet, soothing ability to make you feel special even in the midst of the many others she loved.
When I picture Grandma, I see her seated on the steps to her front door waving goodbye to us as we left after a weekend filled with great food, time together, and fond memories.
Awww, what great memories you have of your grandma Jen, It sounds like she was an awesome g-ma!
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