This is a Happy Birthday tribute to Gram Pierce who turns 96 today! I know she won't be reading this, but I think it's worth writing anyway. I'll see if I can get lucky and catch her on her phone line today. Gram is quite a woman I don't know where to start in honoring her. The pics above are from my Wedding day- the first few I could find on file in my computer. I thought she looked absolutely lovely on that day in the bright red dress. And there she is hovering over Dad's shoulder as he tried to tie his shoes...And there is one with Mom and Grandma Barbara that's so nice. Gram has an incredible life story. One of my personal favorites is that of her Wedding before Grandad Jack went off to war...the way she raised little Uncle John on her own for awhile...I give her a ton of credit for giving birth to all boys! Later in life after Grandad's death she'd always break out into "This is the day that the Lord has made" and could always be found strumming her guitar, blowing a kazoo or other silly noisemaker instrument and attempting to play that little omnichord thing she had. She really finds joy in the simplest of things. I know now she's often the life of the party at Greensborough Manor.
Another highlight for me was asking her to be my Confirmation sponsor in 6th grade. I always felt lucky as a child that she gave me a lot of personal time and attention. I loved going to plays, concerts or anything she invited us kids to. And her apartment was always stocked with random kid toys. When I was learning to drive somehow I convinced her to allow me to practice in her car. She was a true sport when I ran her it into the side of the house and only asked me to cover the charge of her broken headlight. (The dent in the house wasn't fixed until the home renovations were done in 2004!) There's so much down memory lane I should just stop now.
Anyhow, I'm hoping that we can get down to NC VERY soon for a visit with her. We were totally bummed to miss the 4th of July opportunity due to our crazy virus (Luis still has gross scars all over his hands!). But we're waiting to see how much longer Sharon Isabella & Jaye will be out of town before we reschedule. Here's hoping that I can reach Gram on the phone today...
8 comments:
Congratulations and Happy Birthday Grandma Betty!
Your grandmother is truly a "classy lady". And she is one of the most delightful, down to earth, and joyful woman I know.
Thank you so much for sharing all of your memories, Cal.
Love, Teresa
So I really did just talk to Gram a minute ago. It had been a regretfully LONG time since I had tried reaching her- shame on me. She was the same. When I said Happy Birthday she said "I'm 70! No, 87!!." It was cute. And we talked about general things. I told her about my kids and commended her for having all boys to which she responded "Oh boys are sooo easy" and then said something to the effect of how terribly difficult girls are with all the shopping and such. Then she delivered one of her classic lines about life that sounded something like "Oh, I'm always joyful. I just take all of the good out of the bad Life goes on it really does." Wow- easier said than done if you ask me. But she's allowed to say anything because she's 96! I couldn't help choking up a bit after we hung up. She's the same woman even with all the dimensia and old age. She's been through a lot. The little girl inside of me who spent so much of my growing years with her misses her. But life really does go on!
hey Cal!
I'm so glad you got to talk with her! I wasn't able to get her on the phone...very weird not to be celebrating her b-day with her, the first time in many years!
I had to add about her letting us use her car: i failed my driver's test the first time because it was a stick shift, so Gram let me borrow her car to take my test and i passed! she was FAR more nervous about it than i was!
Oh and Cal, i believe i need to correct something in your post (unless i've missed a fun piece of family history!)...a "shotgun wedding" is historically when the father of the girl forces the boy to marry her because she is pregnant! I had to tell you that and clear Gram's name! Their wedding was VERY spontaneous and rushed, but NOT a true shotgun wedding (unless i really did miss something!)
love to all!
Thanks for the clarification Jaye! I always thought "shotgun" implied rushed and not necessarily that a pregnancy was involved and definitely didn't realize the whole father holding the shotgun bit. So I removed the word and hopefully didn't stir up all kinds of crazy ideas regarding family history. Since only family and a few of my friends even read this it was probably just a good laugh for all. There are a lot of stories about Gram we could embellish into pretty interesting tales for the future generations!
I was sure I had missed a scandal all these years!
Dear Carolyn, Thank you for honoring Gram on this great day of her 96th birthday. She was so thankful that God gave her granddaughters and knows how to make each person feel special! I've learned so much from her and am still learning- she lives with faith and enthusiasm, and has persevered through all the good and bad times. Cheers to
our family treasure, Betty Pierce!
Cal,
Great post! Cheers to our dear Grandma! She is so great. Hey, maybe I can meet you doen in N.C. when you do go. I really want to see her too.
We'll talk about it.
Love,
Cath
yay! Party in NC!!! Sharon and I are heading back home next week so let's talk dates!
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