#24 - Interview Maw-maw about her life

I selected this item for my 30 Before 30 list because I am very fortunate to have a living and relatively young great-grandma.  My maw-maw is 87 years old and still lives by herself up the road from my Meme (my grandma).  She gets around fine and takes care of herself.  To me, she has always looked the same, except that her once graphite colored hair has turned all white over the years.  She wears her hair in a bun on her head and a sweet smile on her face and is probably the sweetest lady ever.  At holiday parties and family get-togethers, she sits quietly in a chair someplace off to the side and watches as the rest of us act crazy, always with that sweet smile!

 

 

Isn't that the sweetest lady you've ever seen?? Easter 2006

Maw-maw sitting quietly with her bun & a smile!  Thanksgiving 2011

I have always wondered what Maw-maw was like as a young woman.  Women in our family are not known for being sweet and innocent.  We are generally very stubborn, head-strong, opinionated, and vivacious.  All kinder words for saying we're a collective hot mess!  I was always curious to know if she, too, was a wild one!  ALSO, if Tyler and I have a little girl, she will be named Madison Elisabeth.  My Maw-maw's name is Melverie Elisabeth.  I'd like to someday be able to tell my little girl a thing or two about the namesake for her middle name.  If we're really lucky, she might be old enough someday to remember her great-great-grandma herself.

The Interview

On Christmas Eve, my cousin Misti and I walked up the road from our Meme's to Maw-maw's house to interview her.  Misti had made a great list of questions and I brought along my "Story of a Lifetime" book which has tons of interview questions designed for this purpose (I'd highly recommend this as a gift!)  We knocked on her door and she excitedly welcomed us in.  She was wearing a long dress robe, her bun on her head, and that sweet little smile!  She sat in her chair by the window (and by the phone - she loves to make phone calls) and welcomed our many questions!  We explained that we wanted to interview her and learn about her life.  She was surprisingly forth-coming and answered every question in detail!

Unfortunately, I had forgotten the video camera, so I was frantically scribbling notes from the interview in my book and we don't have any of it on tape, but it was still really fun to hear her tell about her younger days.  Here are a few things we learned:

Favorite Food - Meatballs and spaghetti, pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy
Favorite Dessert - Cheesecake
Favorite Color - Green

She did not go to high school.  She finished the 7th grade at Rosepine.  In those days, a lot of kids didn't finish school.  She used to walk to school every day and had to cross Flat Creek on a foot-log (a tree/log that had fallen across the creek & was wide enough to cross on foot) to get to school and back.

She has 1 sister and 2 brothers.  She has 6 children, born in the following order:  Faye (my Meme), Trish, George, Tanya, Kaye and Curt Jr.

She was born at Anacoco Creek in Louisiana (not far from where she lives now.)  They lived with their grandma in a log shotgun house.  Her grandma was a midwife and actually delivered several of her children! They moved back and forth between Anacoco Creek and Griffin Place when she was a kid (I still have to look up Griffin Place).  Her daddy bought the property that she and my Meme and many other family members now live on when she was a teenager, before my Meme (her eldest) was born.

She worked very hard!  She told us about her first job at DeRidder Steam Laundry where she says she did just about everything, including checking clothes in and out and dry cleaning.  She worked there for 13 years.  She also worked at Jim's Coffee Shop that was across the street from the DeRidder court house.  She would work from 7am to 4pm at the Laundry, then change in the bathroom into her uniform and walk to Jim's Coffee Shop and work until midnight.  She also said that Jim's Coffee Shop didn't have a restroom, so they had to walk across the street to use the restroom at the courthouse.  I found that very odd for a Coffee Shop not to have a restroom!  Coffee is a diuretic... hello?  She also said that Jim's was right next to a bus stop for Fort Polk (which was Camp Polk in those days, before it became a "fort") and there were always military men coming into town!

She lived in Rosepine with her family and moved into DeRidder with her cousin Eloise.  When we asked her why she moved, she explained that she worked in DeRidder, and there weren't any good roads from their property in Rosepine to the highway to DeRidder, only wagon roads.  She would have to walk through mud to get to the highway, then catch a ride with whomever to get to DeRidder.  She named off a lot of family members and other people that used to give her rides to work, but she also said that she used to catch a ride with "a man who drove a bread truck."

We asked if her places of work were segregated when she worked there.  She didn't seem to recall any segregation.  She said that "a lotta colored people run them presses" at the laundry and that "there were black cooks but no black waitresses" at Jim's.  She does not recall many black people coming into the coffee shop as patrons, though. 

Her love stories were the most interesting!  First of all, it's well known among family that my great-grandpa, Bill, was arrested for bigamy.  He was a truck driver and was found to be married to 5 or 6 different women at the same time.  The story I've always heard is that my Maw-maw found out he had been arrested in California when one of his wives there sent her a newspaper clipping of the arrest.  What a scandal!  I don't know much else about him.  After he was arrested, incarcerated and released, I believe he stayed in California.  He is buried there and Maw-maw says he died of some kind of stomach cancer.  I've found some information about him on Ancestry.com and have actually gotten in contact with some of my Meme's half-siblings.  

A newspaper clipping about Bill's arrest.  This could have been the one my unsuspecting Maw-maw got in the mail!

I learned that, sadly, Bill was the love of her life and he broke her heart.  I asked her how long it took her to get over him and what happened and her response was, "I guess you don't ever get over a thing like that."  I'd assumed it was a terrible experience for her, but it made me sad to think of my sweet Maw-maw enduring that kind of heartache as she was telling her story.  She met Bill at her Aunt Martha's.  She and the other girls were there playing "Please and Displease" (if anyone knows what this game is, please tell me!) and he was a mail carrier for the military.  He stopped at Aunt Marthas and apparently started playing this game with them.  They were married January 7th of 1943 (according to her, but records show they were married in 1944.)  My Meme was born a little over a year later, followed by my Aunt Trish.

After Bill was arrested and I guess their marriage was dissolved, she said that she met my Uncle George's dad, Edward.  She wasn't over Bill yet, so Edward was a rebound.  She then told us that Edward was SHOT AND KILLED in 1949 while she was pregnant with his son!  Another heart-break!  This is the first I'd learned that Uncle George never got to meet his father. :(

After Edward, she met my Aunt Tanya's father, Don, who was a military man.  I didn't get much information on this guy, so I'm not really sure how she met him or what happened to him!  I know after Don, she met Henry, my Aunt Kaye's father.  He worked on an oil rig and they lived together in Lake Charles for a while.  He did get to be a part of Aunt Kaye's life, but he, too, was SHOT AND KILLED!  I just can't believe the awful luck!  Some man in Lake Charles killed him.  Eventually, I'll have to go investigate these stories more and get the scoop.

The last man in her life was Curt, my Uncle Curt Jr's father.  They met at Oaks Restaurant when she was working there.  They were married in 1964 and were together until he died in 1998.

WHEW!  Let me just take a minute to catch my breath after recounting all that...

What a tumultuous love life!  Can you believe how much she has endured with this whirl-wind of lovers being arrested, shot & killed, and dying?  It amazes me that she still has the ability to hold that sweet, sweet smile for us!  I'm going to squeeze her really tight next time I see her.  I was overwhelmed as she told me these stories, but writing it all out now has made it really sink in just how much she has been through. 

Our interview was cut short because it was almost time for the Christmas Eve party to begin, but I would very much like to sit down with her again, this time with a video camera, and find out even more.  For example, it is rumored that Maw-maw dips snuff!  EWWWWW!  While we interviewed her, she was spitting into a bottle, so its highly likely she was dipping!  I've heard that she usually carries around a film canister of snuff with her.  I want to get to the bottom of this!  I also want to ask her more about what it was like growing up during the Great Depression.  I want to find out what she feels are the most valuable lessons she's learned in her life.  There's so much more to find out! 

Maw-maw as a young lady... What other mysteries hide behind those cat-eyed glasses?

Stand by for a Maw-maw interview, part 2! ;)

Christmas 2012

I must start by apologizing for my 3 week hiatus!  I feel like life has been a whirl-wind of Christmas shopping, parties, wrapping, decorating, and traveling since this month began.  I absolutely adore Christmas and everything this season entails, however, I am very much looking forward to getting back onto a normal schedule and a normal DIET!  Holy, calories, Batman!  This fat kid LOVES her some grub, so I have been on a binge with all this delicious holiday food.  I need some veggies back in my life and fewer cookies and pies and carbs!

I'm not sure how I got off on the food tangent, but... moving along...

This Christmas was one of the best I've had in a many years.  To start, last year was the WORST, so in contrast this one HAD to be better.  Last year, I had a few too many drinks and at one point I found myself crying, alone, in my aunt's guest room because my sentimental (and tipsy) heart could not handle that so many of my favorite family members were absent that year.  I couldn't tell you what I got for Christmas last year, but I could list the names of everyone I did NOT get to see at the annual Christmas party.  So... that being said... as long as I didn't end up having my own personal pity party this year, it was expected to be an improvement.

We kicked off Christmas this year with one big surprise gift for my husband the Sunday before Christmas!  In early November, I bought Texans tickets to surprise him with as a Christmas/Birthday gift.  I had some money secretly saved from much earlier in the year that I had kept under wraps with the intention of doing something special for his 30th birthday (coming up in January.)  He has been whining for months that we needed to go to a couple games this season, and I was constantly shooting the idea down because of the cost.  We haven't been to a game in 2 years, and I could see he wanted to go badly, so I thought tickets would be an ideal gift.  I got us 2 middle-of-the-road tickets (not nosebleeds, but still within the budget) to the Vikings vs Texans game.

On the Sunday before Christmas, Tyler was NOT a happy camper because he did not understand why we had to get there so early and he especially did NOT like that I was being such a mean wife and making him MISS watching the TEXANS game!  I, knowing the tickets to the game that day were secretly wrapped up in a box in the back seat of the car, was loving every moment of his crankiness and doing my best bluffing to keep him in the dark.  Driving from Nederland, we can either take the exit to I-10 E to Louisiana or to I-10 W to Houston.  I took the "wrong" exit towards Houston.  Tyler, knowing that I am often an easily distracted driver and not at all surprised with my mistake, calmly (but clearly annoyed) pointed out that I was heading us in the wrong direction.  At that time, I handed him a small wrapped box and instructed him to open his Christmas present.  He gave me a weird look and started to comply as he was also pointing out that I needed to exit and make a u-turn.  As he more excitedly kept pointing out that I needed to "catch that exit... you're going to pass that exit... Babe!! You needed to take that exit!!  What are you doing??!!," I could not stop my laughter and kept telling him to open the gift!  FINALLY, he opened it to reveal the tickets and he was very excited, and no longer yelling at me to exit.  I then handed him another gift from my Mom, which was a J.J. Watt t-shirt for him to wear to the game to which we were now headed.  I was very pleased with myself for pulling off the surprise!  I have such a hard time keeping secrets like that and I had been anticipating that moment for months.  Unfortunately, the Texans went on to a disappointing loss that day, but we very much enjoyed being among fellow fans.  There's just something about the atmosphere at a game.  The smells, sounds, and company of the other fans all make the experience worthwhile.  Despite the loss, we had a great time!


After the game, we made the drive to Louisiana for the family festivities.  This year the annual Christmas Eve party with my family in DeRidder was held at my Meme's (my grandma).  We had spent the past several years at my aunt's because my Meme wasn't feeling up to entertaining, gave up on decorating, and the house is a "smoking" household (put nicely.)  This year we were back at Meme's.  As an added bonus, my cousin that lives in San Francisco was visiting this year so I was looking forward to spending some time with her and her husband for the first time in over a year and a half.  She and I spent nearly every summer together growing up, so for a long time she was the closest thing I had to a sister (until, of course, I became a step-sister) and it's safe to say that her presence at the Christmas party was the highlight of the holiday for me!

On Christmas Eve, I got up early to go to the grocery store as soon as it opened.  I DESPISE grocery shopping, especially before big holidays, so I wanted to get a jump on it before the crowds.  Luckily, there were no crowds at all and I got my shopping and cooking done early.  I had a nap when my cooking was done because I didn't want to be the lame pregnant girl that passed out after dinner, and afterwards headed out to my Meme's to help with the decorating.  Misti was already there so she and I put on our Santa hats and decorated the small tree my Mom had brought for the party and put up a few extra lights and trinkets around the house to make it more festive.  After decorating, we walked up the road to interview Maw-maw (my great-grandma) and complete one of the items on my 30 Before 30 list.  My maw-maw is 87 years old.  She lives alone, still gets along great, and is still very sharp!  She is quieter than I imagine she was in her youth, but she still doesn't miss a thing.  She was very forth-coming with our questions and I really enjoyed the short time we got to interview her before heading to the party.  I'll have a separate post about the interview and completing that item on my list.  After the interview, we walked back down to Meme's and family started arriving.  We spent the rest of the evening eating, visiting, exchanging gifts, and playing board games.  My cousins, Tyler, and I all started out playing Risk and then we played Quelf until 2am.  I love, love LOVE family time and had a blast.  When we finally went back to my aunt's house to retire for the night, around 2:30am, the baby started kicking more than ever before as soon as I laid down!  The little stinker now seems to have gotten in the habit of being very active between 1-3am.  We have a night-owl of a child growing here!

Christmas morning, like a little kid, I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to open presents!  I woke up Tyler and started texting my Mom to get herself and everyone else up.  We drove to Meme's and opened presents with my Mom, her boyfriend, and my step-sister.  One of my favorite gifts I gave this year was a personalized glass frame for my Mom.  It has "Gigi's Baby" etched on it and I put a picture of the ultrasound in the frame for now.  This will be her first grand-child and to say she is excited is the understatement of the century.  Our child will be spoiled rotten, and much of it will be her doing.  I'm trying to accept this as fact now so that I'll be less combative about it later.  After presents, a huge storm rolled in and knocked down trees in the area and the power went out as a result.  It was not a white Christmas, but it was a WET one!  When the storm had past, we went back to my aunts and spent the rest of the day being lazy, followed by more board games.

The day after Christmas we drove home to Nederland, played with some of our new "toys," unpacked, and then went to do Christmas dinner and presents with Tyler's family.  After eating a delicious dinner and opening tons of presents, we put together a gingerbread house with our nieces and then played our new board games (Quelf and Cranium.) We were so spoiled this year!!  We got just about everything we could have wanted and more and had so much fun with family.  This unborn and already spoiled child of ours even got a few gifts.  Baby already has it's first Texans gear, first bath toy, and first booties!

So, again, I'd like to reiterate that this was one of the best Christmases I've had in a while, not because of the gifts received (though, those were awesome too), but because of the quality time spent with family and the many laughs that were had.  I'm so very thankful for the family that we have in our lives.  In all the areas of my life that I have been blessed, they are the most cherished blessing of all.

Christmas Highlight Reel

Tyler and I at a Christmas party for our business networking group. 

The perfect gift from my husband.  My very first piece of "mommy" jewelry!

Our view of the field at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

The two of us VERY EXCITED for the game to begin...

Misti and I posing in our Santa hats after decorating the little tree.  She does not like babies and wouldn't touch the belly.  Haha...

Misti contemplating world domination during our game of Risk.

My Meme and Papa at the Christmas Eve party.

The 5th generation is on the way!  I LOVE this picture & Meme holding the belly!

Our niece, Ceriah, helping assemble the gingerbread house.

18 Weeks - Quickening

As of Wednesday, December 5th, I am 18 weeks pregnant!  At this point the baby is the size of a sweet potato, so he or she is my sweet tator-tot this week!  This is my first pregnancy post for a few reasons:

1. I have been blessed with the easiest pregnancy on the planet so far.  I have very few complaints and the pregnancy has been generally very uneventful (now, I'll just say a little prayer that it continues this way!)
2. I was slacking on taking belly pictures, until this week, when I finally admitted that I'm not just bloated anymore and that this baby is showing!
3. I have been keeping a hand-written pregnancy journal and felt blog updates about the pregnancy were redundant.  The purpose of the journal is so that baby can someday read all about how I was feeling and what I was thinking while they were growing into a tiny human, and/or so that I can compare notes with any subsequent pregnancies!  Tyler enjoys the journal as well because he likes to read about what I'm REALLY thinking.  I'd like to eventually have him write a couple entries himself. 

Yep, there's a baby in there! 18 weeks

Tyler swaddled a sweet potato.  He is already trying to win Father of the Year!

This week's biggest pregnancy highlight is that I got to feel the baby moving!!  I have heard him/her kicking like crazy at the heart monitor during my midwife appointments, but until two nights ago, I had not yet been able to feel the movement (at least not that I could discern.)  I don't know how else to describe how it felt, except that it felt much like it sounded on the monitor, "WOOSH!"

Two nights ago, I awoke around 3am to incredible hunger pangs.  This is also a first in the pregnancy.  I have felt unexpectedly and ravenously hungry at several moments throughout the pregnancy, but never in the middle of the night.  The hunger comes on STRONG and FAST!  I'll be fine one minute, then the next I can think of nothing else but eating ANYTHING that instant!  When the hunger started at 3am I was exhausted and annoyed that my stomach DARE wake me up, so I tried to ignore it and laid in bed miserably trying to go back to sleep.  Finally, at 4am, I conceded that it was not going away and I got up to get a bite to eat.  I am TRYING to eat healthily, so I went for trail mix and some pecans.  I also had a tall glass of water, (which I later came to regret as I woke up every 30 minutes to use the bathroom for the rest of the night!) 

When I went back to bed, I could not fall asleep.  I was exhausted, getting really frustrated, and for the first time I was thinking negatively about this pregnancy... but at that moment, I felt the "woosh, woosh, flutter, woosh."  It's as if he or she knew in that moment that I needed a reminder of the little miracle happening inside me.  I teared up a little.  I had been waiting very impatiently to feel the baby move, but times before when I thought MAYBE I was feeling the baby, it wasn't obvious enough and could have been ruled out as gas.  I was so excited and enjoying every tiny flutter, THEN, baby suddenly stopped moving.  SO, I poked at the baby a few times in hopes that the movements would start again.  Hahaha... I'm going to be an awesome Mom.  The poking didn't work, so I guess baby was done with his/her performance for the night.  It was a great feeling, though, and I can't wait to feel it again!
 

Pregnancy Bonus:  Re-discovering "virgin" daiquiris! Who knew "virgin" drinks come with sprinkles??

Pregnancy Downer:  Not enjoying FREE cocktails at weddings! Here we are, all smiles, nonetheless!