Martha Thurston
For the past two weeks, my grandchildren have begged to sleep in my bed. I don’t mind it. I understand that it is something that they like to do. I did, too, when my grandmother (I called her Nanny) let me stay the night. We would spend time watching favorite movies, and then, as we were falling asleep, we would talk about almost anything and everything.
My Nanny didn’t like to be by herself whenever my grandfather would go out of town. He was a truck driver, so if he had to go on an overnight trip, she would ask me or my brother if we would like to stay the night.
Unlike most grandmothers, Nanny couldn’t cook. In fact, we found out she had a dead mouse in her oven when I went to stay the night, and we were trying to cook the TV dinners in the oven. These were the days before microwaves. We would go to the store, buy junk food, sodas, Jiffy pop popcorn in the tin, and a TV dinner for each of us.
After we cooked our TV dinner and popped the popcorn, we would settle on the couch and watch TV. Our favorite shows were Solid Gold, Knot’s Landing, Dynasty, and Dallas (I mean we had to know who shot J.R. Ewing, right?). If it were summer, we would go outside and sit in the glider on the porch and watch the lightning bugs flit here and there.
Of course, even though she couldn’t cook, she was talented. She taught me to crochet, macrame, and sew. She once tried to teach me to knit, but I just couldn’t get the hang of it. While she shared her love of crafts, it was the gifts of books that captured my imagination. I learned every word in the Webster’s dictionary she gave me. I read every Reader’s Digest copy she shared after reading them herself, and I read every abridged book she bought from Reader’s Digest. She told me that if I could read, nothing could hold me back. She even bought me cookbooks so that I could teach myself to cook. She knew I was smart cookie.
She passed in 2003. I miss her a lot, and I always try to share my memories of her with my children and grandchildren. Sometimes I realize that I’m a lot like her in many ways- especially with my sassy side. Oh, but she takes the prize in that one. Not many people have ever shot out all of the windows in a business because they refused to serve her. Those were different days and different times. I doubt she’d get away with that now. But I do remember the best advice she gave me as an adult. I was about to go to jail for beating up my ex and his girlfriend. I came in the house with leaves in my hair, dirt all over, and I was crying about going to jail.
She looked me up and down and said, “Well, did it feel good to do it?”
I thought about it for a moment and replied, “Yes.”
She nodded her head at me and squared her jaw. “Well, go in the bathroom and fix your hair and make up so you’ll look good for the picture then.”
Of course, I did just that. Thank God for small towns and not having to have my picture taken.
