“The shoes of all grandparents are inestimable mysteries, hold them in your hand and they are strange and tender somehow, and hers were particularly so, polished and worn, mucked and puddled and polished again with that kind of human resolve that to me is inexplicably moving.”
Really enjoyed this memory. Especially of Mummy rocking and praying in German. Got me thinking how I might be remembered by my grandchildren. I spent summers at my grandmas in Glassport and Homestead Pennsylvania and for an extended stay when my mom was hospitalized for several months when I was 7. Several generations married late in their 20s so I never knew my great grandparents. But I have many treasured memories of Grandma Carpenter - sitting on her bed at night helping her brush and braid her long but thinned white hair. During the day she wore it on top of her head in a bun. I was given her hairpins. My children had only one living grandparent, (my mom )Memom, as my first son dubbed her. They have many treasured memories with her. I try to make the rounds every year at least so my grands and great grands will have some special memories.
When my Granny died and we were clearing out her things, it was her shoes that tipped me over the edge into tears. I always thing there is something so humbling and vulnerable about a person's shoes. Something that reminds me of our shared humanity in a way that really is 'inexplicably moving' as the quote says. Seeing someone's shoes always opens up a huge well of compassion for them in me. I don't know why, but there it it.
Your memory reminded me of my bride's great-grandmother's shoes (and corncob pipe), that reside on the fireplace mantle in the kitchen of our (and her), 1830 farmhouse here in northwest Georgia...
I never met, let alone knew, Gussie, but my bride did for a few years at least...
On the other hand, our boys, now in their mid-twenties, were privileged to have known their great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers on "both sides" of their momma's family... the last of whom passed here about two years ago...
Really enjoyed this memory. Especially of Mummy rocking and praying in German. Got me thinking how I might be remembered by my grandchildren. I spent summers at my grandmas in Glassport and Homestead Pennsylvania and for an extended stay when my mom was hospitalized for several months when I was 7. Several generations married late in their 20s so I never knew my great grandparents. But I have many treasured memories of Grandma Carpenter - sitting on her bed at night helping her brush and braid her long but thinned white hair. During the day she wore it on top of her head in a bun. I was given her hairpins. My children had only one living grandparent, (my mom )Memom, as my first son dubbed her. They have many treasured memories with her. I try to make the rounds every year at least so my grands and great grands will have some special memories.
Thanks for reading, Kathleen, and for sharing your stories, too.
When my Granny died and we were clearing out her things, it was her shoes that tipped me over the edge into tears. I always thing there is something so humbling and vulnerable about a person's shoes. Something that reminds me of our shared humanity in a way that really is 'inexplicably moving' as the quote says. Seeing someone's shoes always opens up a huge well of compassion for them in me. I don't know why, but there it it.
Thanks for sharing that, Abby. So true. What is it about shoes, I wonder?
If I may...
Your memory reminded me of my bride's great-grandmother's shoes (and corncob pipe), that reside on the fireplace mantle in the kitchen of our (and her), 1830 farmhouse here in northwest Georgia...
I never met, let alone knew, Gussie, but my bride did for a few years at least...
On the other hand, our boys, now in their mid-twenties, were privileged to have known their great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers on "both sides" of their momma's family... the last of whom passed here about two years ago...
Thanks for the opportunity to pause...
That's really cool. Thanks for sharing that with us, George. Have a great weekend!