Both my grandfathers died before I was born, but my grandmothers were still around during my childhood. One was a tough scowling old Polish lady with a low gravelly voice, who cooked all day long and complained about everything; the other was a sweet smiling lady who lived in a big farmhouse, and who cooked all day long and never complained about anything.
This brings me to the observation that there are two basic kinds of grandmother.
Betty MacDonald, in “The Egg and I,” noted this first. Her two grandmothers were: a) “Gammy,” a crazy old bird who lived with them and made them do things they didn't want to do and eat things they didn't want to eat; and b) “Deargrandmother,” a frail lacy thing who visited from time to time, and who was lovely and delicate.
Aha!
This appears to be a law of life. My friend P., who lives with her son and his family, is Type A. She is very full of beans. She argues with her grandkids, and is stern with them. She is not a frail lacy grandma. She is a tough grandma.
Now let's take the next logical step. Could it be that this yin/yang grandma dichotomy isn't limited to grandmothers?
For years, everyone told me how much I resembled Farmhouse Grandma. Oh my! they said. You have Grandma's blue eyes and fair complexion! You look just like her!
But I know I didn't feel like her. I certainly didn't feel sweet and helpful.
Can you guess what I felt like instead?
Grr. I'm complaining and scowling right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment