Grandma's Wallpaper

Since I think a lot about being a grandmother these days, I went to a box of old photos and found some pictures of my own grandmother. Of course, I thought it would be nice to put them in one of my scrapbooks.

Now I just had one set of grandparents: my father’s father and mother. They were older and died when I was in my late teens and early twenties.

I was an only child and I got a lot of attention, especially from Grandma.

I should mention that Grandpa had been a policeman and tended to be rather gruff. He and Dad played cribbage when we visited them every Sunday. Yes – every Sunday!

They lived in a modest home in West Toronto; near High Park and Grenadier Pond. Once I got my drivers license, I would drive Grandma to the Park where there was a very nice, compact zoo, lots of walking trails, picnic tables and benches. Grandma thought that was pretty special that her grandchild could drive her someplace. Sometimes we went to church and sometimes she’d ask to visit the cemetery. I was very proud to be able to take her places.

Well, there were not a lot of pictures, but there were some nice, small, black and white snapshots – the kind with the wavy edged borders.

My friend looked closely as we talked about what paper I would use for cropping this picture. She noticed Grandma was wearing a polka-dotted dress. So, perhaps polka-dotted paper would be good!

I went up and down the aisles of paper and picked up one page of dots. But, another page really caught my eye and I purchased it as well.

When I went back to my table, my friend inquired about the paper: “What’s this?”

“Oh, well, that is pretty much like the wallpaper in Grandma’s living room!”

Funny, the little things that stick in our minds for so many years. (Will Ava remember the little white Standard Poodle figurine she looks at in my curio cabinet?)

I can recall Grandma knitting lovely sweaters for me and then teaching me to knit, crochet and hand-sew. She always had some sweet treat for me and to her I was very special – perhaps because I was her only.

I sure hope that my extended family great-grandchildren will remember me with even half the esteem I have for my own grandma!