Oct 21, 2008
Ten-Word Tuesday.
You are looking at a photo of Bossy and her husband and son taken during Columbia’s Family Weekend in New York City.
No you’re not—but you are looking at a photo of Barack O’Boyfriend with the grandparents who raised him, taken during Columbia’s Family Weekend in New York City.
Bossy is completely enamored with these two, a certain Madelyn and Stanley Dunham from Kansas. Barack lived with his grandparents from the age of ten, and he credits them with instilling values straight from their Midwestern roots—things like “accountability and self-reliance. Love of country. Working hard without making excuses. Treating your neighbor as you’d like to be treated.”
Barack’s grandfather died in 1992, and his grandmother, who he nicknamed Toot, is now 86-years-old and ailing—and today Barack suspended his campaign in order to be with her.
Which brings Bossy to today’s Ten-Word Challenge. In exactly ten words, can you tell Bossy about one of your beloved grandparents?
And be sure to check back later today for the best family recollections on the web.
Grandfather: first across the Ben Franklin bridge. Full. Of. Life.
My Grammy had a Irish brogue and loved to laugh.
Gramma: the best cook and silliest woman I ever knew.
Grandmother instilled a love of books, libraries and animals in me.
At 95 years, still rocking her/mine/our red hair.
Poppop: Philly tough, voice like the forrest, nothing but love
grandmom: taught me to knit and cook; a stong woman.
Grandad: Taught me how to build things, and fish.
Grandma Lola grew poppies. Her bathroom smelled like rosewater. Good.
Toot*, that is what my grandpa’s name was inside out.
Otto – in case you needed a translation.
G-GMOM Susie; Strong, sweet, shortest. Only bad weeds grow tall!
Vara: college grad at 18, entertainer, traveler, grand & mother, sharp
Grandmaw is the stubbornest (and most giving) woman on Earth.
Grandma Bessie … coolest cat I’ll ever know. Miss you dearly.
Classy, articulate grandma made everyone in the room feel important!
Granddaddy, my childhood best friend, confidant and midnight snack partner.
Grandma: A life of hardships, love, peseverance and unwavering faith.
Sitoo used to call lebanese dinners “hot dogs and beans”
I have to do one from my Grandmama too!
Grandmama, taught me how to fold fitted sheets like a pro!!
Mammaw. Butter cookies, chicken-n-dressing, making quilts and watching college basketball
Grandma – served coffee with cream and sugar after a sleepover!
Grandpa – took us fishing with bamboo poles and fresh nightcrawlers!
Grandpa: great smile & laugh, loved gardening, fishing, dancing, family
Other grandfather: great hugs, affectionately called Bossy “chicken”, emanated warmth.
Grandma, gave to all, never complained, true love lived out.
A crisp 10 dollar bill in our stockings each Christmas.
Grandfather with twinkly eyes and stories I will love forever
Christmas eve’s at grandma and grandpa’s were the best ever!
GRANNIE PROTECTED ME WITH LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING
Memere-We were soul sisters. I miss her very much.
Grandpa – Rode bike till 91 – killed by car while biking.
Gramma & me @ corner tavern. Shirley Temples & White Castles & Sawdust Bowling.
(&, @, &, & not really words…)
Grandma Florence: mean as a snake, but loved her anyway.
grandma, sitting, me sitting in her skirt, rocking back/forth.
Grandma is from Virginia and always trying to feed everyone.
Maternal Grandmother known as “Nana.”
Just ten words? Not possible.
Great Grandma, only one arm, baked daily, raised six kids.
Grandma Fay couldn’t cook, but she danced while she ironed.
4′ tall Grandma, Meat Packer’s Union, meanest, funniest damn woman!!!
Miss you Grandma!
Grandma Gert. Great cook. Loved partying. Loved Windsor & Coke!
Grandma.Precious.Loving.Understanding.Unconditional.Excellent cook.Role model.Beautiful.
My grandma is the loveliest human being I’ve ever known.
Grandma Accepting, Loving, Honest, Faithful, Great cook and Baker. Glorious
Funny. Beautiful. Kind. Loving. Complicated. I miss Grandmother every day.
Grandma Bill: owned grocery store, rode motorcycle, lived to 98.
Feisty. Generous with love, good food and a wooden spoon.
I got my love of the Yankees from my Mimi.
Cotton house dresses, Dove soap, cookies, pie, crochet, back rubs.
Grandma crazy as a loon, talented seamstress-made doll clothes.
Grandpa danced at my wedding, and suddenly died shortly after.
Mamaw and Big Pap – never judge, always love. Nuff said.
Dancing between raindrops, fierce letter writing, perfect turkey baking grammy.
Handsome creative grandpa, never got to meet him…so sad!
Grandma was the epitome of love, and good southern cooking!
Paternal gps: Excommunicated me because I left their abusive son. Still grieving.
Maternal gps: In motel room with gun; she dies. Murder or suicide?
How lucky you are to have fond memories of your grandparents. I hope my child and his future child(ren) have better ones than I have.
Pappy: flooded me with postcards of kindness & love during college.
Grandma talks my ear off every Thanksgiving. I love her.
I named my sweet middle child “Edward” after you, Opa.
Grandma is still alive and kicking at age ninety three!
Oma was in Germany. Met her once, fell in love.
(Woo hoo! Bloglines feeds are finally working! Thanks for that!!)
Grandmother: Too cool to call “grandma,” adventurous, let me drive beamer….
Grandmom’s spaghetti guitar is my favorite thing on our walls.
Pop-Pop loved to watch the Phillies, even when they lost.
Grandmoo always had treats in the drawer in the guestroom.
Didn’t know them – they lived in Germany – me in Canada
G-G-Ma: Gin & Frescas, crooked wig, at least two secret pasts
Our country will go to hell in a hand basket if Obama is elected.
Snobby Grannie Rose came from England and hated Yiddish accents.
Grandpa, a heart to match his huge belly. Miss him dearly.
Lorrie,
Bossy is not asking for political BS. If you don’t like Obama, fine, but don’t stick a negative comment in the middle of those of us speaking about our love for others.
Shame on you.
G-mom Brady: taught me to love/honor my mother anyway.
(And play scrabble – bless her competitive heart!)
He drove buses and wrote poems. He loved me unconditionally.
i don’t have any beloved grandparents, we weren’t close, sorry.
Grandpa calls me halfdime, now makes my daughter wood toys
Grandpa Jim: Danced like Astaire, adored Grandma, spoiled his 26 grandchildren ROTTEN!
poppy always called me his little chickadee.
Grandma Viv:smart, loving, strong, courageous, writer, lover, gentle warrior
Grandma: Picked me up when I fell, applauded my successes.
I can only share one M&M because she is diabetic.
Grandma: “It’s not how you feel, it’s how you look”.
Grandpa always warned “watch out for wet leaves” when driving.
Other grandpa invented bedtime stories about “Barney Boy”; so clever.
Papaw: Once announced he is uncircumcised at a family dinner.
My Granny, the only grandparent I ever knew. Died young.
Baba: true Southern lady, shared my name, I miss her terribly
I already wrote my ten words and started to cry, but reading everyone else’s recollections of their grandparents has me out and out boo-hooing.
Thanks, Bossy, for inspiring these great posts. Pass the Kleenex…
Grandma’s 93-years old and spunky as all get-out!
Grandaddy:limitless patience, butter-scotches:taught me shoe tying and cribbage
She tells everyone to call her Nana and they do.
Grandpa: took me on dates and always let me complain.
Granny had the best shop at the flea market.
Did’nt really get a chance to know them–which sucks
Grama Mary, lover of laughter, maker of great foods, teller of great stories about the old country, excellent gardener of the vegetable kind.
Miss Miss Miss-every goddamn day. sorry, too many words.
Lisa
coastal nest
YOU GUYS!!
this is soooo awesome, thank you for sharing, these stories are beautiful. Just like our wonderful memories..
Lisa
coastal nest
Thanks for the memory jog, Bossy.
*tears* *crying* *sobs* Unconditional love. *more crying* *tears* *sniff*
Granddaddy, love you. I will never forget you either.
Saltiest old broad to ever slam a bottle of ouzo.
Grammie (lived to be 97) was everybody’s favorite! Even the daughters-in-law wanted her to be their momma! Miss you grammie!
My Nana loved to wear gold lame blouses and stilletos.
Mom’s maternal grandmother taught me how to cheat at cards. Mom’s paternal grandmother taught me the rules about white shoes. Mom’s mother taught me to love everybody, no matter what. Mom’s father taught me to always stand up for myself. Dad’s mother taught me to make pierogies and Chicken Dance.
Grandpa Sarge
Always had pennies for me
In his drawer
Grandma:
Ants-in-the-Pants player, “3 Bears” storyteller, Shadow puppeteer.
Grandpa wore a captain’s hat and let me drive the pontoon.
My Pappy: Can fix anything while cussing at it, does a mean twist.
Mannie: hiding Jewish neighbors in attic while Nazis do house to house searches.
Grootvader: acknowledged with Mannie at Yad Vashem and US. Holocaust Museum .
More than ten words I know… but couldn’t edit down!
Crippled farmer from badly-set hip, Texas wisdom, just kept on.
Wide as tall Grandmother, answered all little s jabberings: “Weeeellllllllllllllllllll.”
(Lost last grandparent at sixteen; looking for others ever since.)
A word dropped out. Grandmother entry should say:
Wide as tall Grandmother, answered all little jabberings: “Weeeellllllllllllllllllllllllll.”
My computer’s messing up. The missing word after “little” is “girl”. This shouldn’t be this difficult. sorry.
And while I’m ditching the 10 word part, I just want to say how my heart goes out to those for whom this Ten-word Tuesday isn’t a source of sweet memories, but of far rougher times. Thanks for sharing that too.
Abner and Gwendolyn Smith of Michigan: my heart and soul.
My dear Grandma: Dorothy Lothrop Stoddard Mitchell, Queen of Tonopah.
Alfhilda Tucci THE best yeast rolls and loved me too.
Nanny, with arms and smile wide, hello my darlings.
Grandma-cold german disciplinarian with the warmest heart found anywhere
Granddaddy, I remember long walks and the scent of cigars.
Scottish grandmother. Died before I understood how special she was.
My grandpa was a big winner on Price is Right
Grammy – lived for yard sales – shopped like nobody’s business. Miss her.
Grandma Mart. Cheeky. Fun. Zany. Alzheimers. Shell left. Great memories.
Grandma MiMi – Friday sleepovers – Saturday pancakes Sunday church – spoiled me
Mema, Irish, tough, funny, gave kids coffee and doughnuts
Grandpa spread wealth by paying people to work, not welfare.
Grandaddy was absolutely everything that a man should be.
Gramma McCabe lived to be 101. Gave me great genes.
Granny: 101, still living alone. Best lemon curd tarts ever.
Grandmother served me 25-cent size pancakes on tiny doll dishes.
Every basketball game, I sat the bench, he cheered anyway.
Ga-Ga is everything a woman should be, and much more.
(Does Ga-Ga count as 2 words? If it does, I’m disqualified.)
I’m going to England next week for Granddad’s 100th birthday.
Gam, artist, singer, beachlover, VWbugdriver, runner, saver, bestbedmaker, happyhourchablisdrinker & chocolatelover. What? Those are SO words.
His playing cards were sooo sticky because he chewed tobacco !!!
Grandpa: Italian immigrant, big strong hands, toast and eggs, the smell of mint and coffee and italian cookies in the drawer. I miss him so much now that I’m an adult. He never got to know who I turned out to be, I think we would have really liked each other.
Bama told a joke that ended “I bit her butt!”
Grandma: Large German woman. Hugs= suffocation in her “Bodacious Tatas.”
My Granny – my hero, my cheerleader, matriarch, sadly gone now.
German hausfrau brummie nan, loved, loving always in my mind.
Papa – smoked a pipe and called me his Christine.
Nana – loved butter mints and taught me to tie my shoes.
Grama raised me. She loved me unconditionally. Sweet, sweet woman.
Maw-Maw milked her own cows and Paw-Paw had the biggest garden I’ve ever seen.
Grammy K. was a wonderful, classy, smart, bourbon-loving Grande Dame.
obsessed with Jesus, claims she never toots & unconditional love.
Man, some people can’t count right.
Mormor: STORYTELLER, teacher. Proud of her hollow leg. Unfortunate cook.
basement bartender, kiddy cocktails, “Stop spinning on the damn barstool!”
Gram- #1 Sooner fan, #1 in kitchen, #1 in my heart.
Classy, white-gloved, gave me cherries from drinks, loved to sing.
Grandma migrated west to California until the Oklahoma dust settled.
If you laughed at Grandpa’s joke, he’d immediately retell it.
Like Obama, they raised me. I owe them everything. Love.
Grandma: Strong, Independent, Fierce Woman…softest hands in the World.
Grandpa – Went fishing at 4am *everyday*….he must have liked it.
Pepaw, fiddle playing, snuff chewing, cantankerous and wise okie cusser.
Memaw, best kitchen singer and Benton, you watch your mouth!
Papa Seth, carried me around like a beloved sack of flour.
Her: “Jump”
Us: “How high?
(pause) **
Can we come down now?”
** note: a pause is not a word
Did I mention She was 4′10″ and had a voice like Ethel Merman.
No?
Should have.
Grandpa. Enigmatic artist and poet. Passed last month. He’s Missed.
Actually, I can’t tell you about her in just 10 words, but I have devoted inches of blog space plus an entire dedicated page to my Grandma Sara, who died 3 years ago in September.
Grandmere: brilliant, humorously acid tongue, gave compliments via third parties.
grandpa sug. yeah, like sugar. a baker. sweet as pie.
Don’t these folks sound luscious? The following generations were “washed out” compared to these.
She was unconditional love, biscuits baking, homemade applesauce, soft smile.
the other one was flyswatter spankings, guilt trips, racist Thanksgivings.
Didn’t like me because I wasn’t like her. Passive aggressive.
Papa, taught me to waltz, and to curse in Italian.
Ten words?
Ha ha ha ha.
Clearly I can not follow the rules, Madame Bossy. (BUT I did wait until after Tuesday, because I have to obsessively read everything on about 6 political websites or the election might go bad….) CLEARLY, we are not looking at some sweet family moments, here. These are obviously unstable terrorists, who kick puppies after giving them the “morning after pill” and raising their taxes.
where is my damned 150K shopping spree?