Cookie on Your Way Out?

So.... my grandma had this thing that she always did, starting when my mom was little...

When she was tired of all the kids running all over her house or when it was simply time for one of my mom's little friends to leave, she'd offer them a cookie "on their way out."

When my (bio-)father came home from the war & was staying at his sister's place in SoCal, he met this adorable brunette who was living with her mom in the same apartment complex. They started dating. One date took place in my aunt's apartment. My grandmother stopped by to see how things were going...and stayed til my father (who had heard the cookie story) offered her a martini on her way out.

Mom continued the tradition (and the many stories associated with it) when my siblings & I were young. You know, having a cookie on your way out the door really does help with the whole separation thing!

Strangely enough, while I don't think anyone has explained this tradition to Teag, she seems to already have a grasp on it.

Gramma stopped by there a couple days ago to check on her girls (TeaRose & her mama were sick with colds).She brought medicines & juice, etc. Then she sat down to visit with Tiff & Teag. However, Tiff soon when into the kitchen to make Teag a bottle before naptime. While she was in there, Teag went over to Gramma's purse and, with much grunting and groaning & straining, dragged Gramma's big red purse over to her feet and then waved and said "Bye-Bye."

She wouldn't stop waving or saying bye-bye til my mom picked up her purse to leave. Guess she was afraid my mom would swipe her milk bottle on the way out! And she didn't even offer Gramma a cookie!


Too funny!!!

Blowing kisses bye-bye

Is this purse huge or what?!?

                            

 My grandma always carried a big purse too...

My Grandmother's Purse

I just read this post {http://thespohrsaremultiplying.com/2009/05/hand-prints/ by Heather Spohr whose little daughter Madeline recently passed away} to my mom & we commented that it makes you want to hire a glass cutter & keep that fragile bit of glass forever or tell your parents they cannot wash their windows. Or, as my mom said, "It's like Grandma's purse."

My grandmother always carried her purse with her. And I learned at an early age that one does not go into other people's purses w/o asking first. Of course, once I'd asked, a magical world was opened up to me. It was amazing what she had in in there! She died in 2001. Since then, my mom has moved 2 times, always moving that purse with her...but she's never opened it.

She couldn't handle it. So one day, a couple months ago, we sat down in the midst of our moving boxes (ready for Mom's 3rd move since 2001), and opened the purse & pulled out all it's goodies...and laughed and cried. And then gently packed it all back up and put it carefully in yet another moving box & brought it to our new house.

When my sister is ready to "handle" it, we shall sit down together: my mom (now a grandma herself), my sister & her baby, and me and open the purse again & pull out not just it's contents, but all the wonderful stories of my grandma & cry & laugh & cry all over again.

The Spohrs will find themselves doing the same with little Maddie's things over & over again. And that's ok. It's healthy. It's normal. It's ok.

There's a homage that says: "People die 2 deaths: once when they actually die & again when people stop speaking of & remembering them."

So here's to my Grandma~beautiful woman that she was!

Here's to Maddie~sweet little girl that she was.

And here's to handprints.........................

And purses..............................

Long may they live!