More years ago, than I care to share, I was born in Vernon TX. And other than a short stint in my 20s; I have lived in and loved Texas. But things change…. And now I am married to a man born in New York.
When I was an adolescent girl, my cousins and I had an ongoing but friendly feud about which was better, Texas or Oklahoma, It was always in good humor, but I was and am a devoted Texan! Go Rangers, Astros, Red Raiders, Texans, Cowboys and Hook em Horns.! Not that I am a sports fan, but Texas is Texas, you know?
But the maternal instinct has trumped the innate Texan deep in my heart. We are moving to Oklahoma. My first great grandchild, my granddaughter and my daughter are in Oklahoma. Now not only am I consorting with a New Yorker, who grew up overseas, I am moving into competitor territory.
You know they say keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The question is, can a yellow rose of Texas thrive in Oklahoma? I think with tender loving care, I will flourish and bloom! After all the state flower of Oklahoma is the Oklahoma rose.
Growing up in a family of 5 children is lovely and maddening. As family position goes, I am right in the middle. To my older sister and brother, I was the baby. To my two younger sisters, I was one of the big kids. Honestly I was probably more the baby since we three older siblings were so close in age. My oldest sister was born on July 6th, 18 months later in January my brother was born. Queue forward to July 6th 18 months after my brother was born; I was born. Yes I was born on my sister’s third birthday. How I love to remind her, I am wonderful gift!
Whichever I am, one of the oldest or the baby, I was very shy and terribly dependent on my mother when I was young. So when my grandparents invited me to spend a week with them in Rush Springs, OK, no one thought I would go. Especially not my mother, who assured me no one, would be able to come pick me up before the next weekend.
Hello world!
But I did go and I had the time of my young life. For just one week, I went from being the middle child with four siblings to becoming an only child. For one entire week, I had my grandparents completely to myself and was allowed to wander around the farm on my own. I named each chicken and watched them pecking the ground for hours. I climbed the apple tree and I talked to my grandparents. I felt like a princess.
My two favorite memories of the week were the weekly trip to the grocery store and my grandmother making lemon pudding.
The grocery store was unlike any grocery store you would find today. It was a small locally owned store crowded with shelves of canned goods, dry goods and fresh produce. But my most vivid memory was the “drawing”. We had been wandering the narrow aisles, mostly window shopping, but a few things made their way into the cart.
Suddenly, it got quiet in the store and Mr. Teal, the grocery store owner called out, “Who wants a ticket. One dollar for a chance at this week’s basket of groceries.” A current of excitement moved through the crowd. Understanding my grandparents were extremely conservative with their money, I was shocked when my grandfather was one of the first people to pay a dollar for a ticket.
What a wondrous thing it was. It was my first experience with the pure joy of chance and anticipation. For only a dollar, there was a chance to take all those groceries home for free. Mr. Teal drew numbers from a cup and called a few numbers. I watched my grandfather’s face. With the complete faith of youth, I waited for him to go collect the groceries. Of course our number wasn’t drawn and we left without the groceries.
Even though I was disappointed when we didn’t win, I remember vividly, how I felt waiting with my grandparents for the “drawing.” It still makes me smile.
My other favorite memory was of my grandmother making a lemon pudding in the large country kitchen. She stirred fresh milk into a sugary mixture in a pot on the stove-top. She was making a pudding and I asked if she was making a banana pudding. My mother often made wonderful banana pudding with vanilla wafers. She said she was making a lemon pudding and we were going to put lemon cookies on top! Then she explained she always put sugar cookies on vanilla pudding and lemon cookies on lemon pudding! I have no idea why that was so remarkable to me but I always thought it was extremely creative!
There were so many good memories from than that week but these two memories transport me back to my grandparents farm and a wonderful week with two of my favorite people.
Nana's Apron Strings 