Monday, September 14, 2009

Monday Memories--Grandpa & Grandma Hoops

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Bill & Julia Hoops

One of the things I liked to see best when the school bus dropped us off at our lane was my grandparents' car in the driveway. When we saw it, we would jump the cattleguards and race for the living room. There sat Grandpa and Grandma. My parents and grandparents had a strained relationship, so mom was usually in some other corner of the house while Grandpa and Grandma sat quietly by themselves waiting for us kids to get home.

Grandpa kept a clip comb in his front pocket and would sit back in the chair while we played barber. It seemed we combed his thick, white hair for hours. When we were small we would run by him and he would reach out, snatch us and tickle us until we couldn't breathe. Then he'd turn us loose, we'd run away, compare red scratches on our ribs and run by him again. Sometimes Grandpa would take the older kids shooting .22 rifles up on the hill and once in awhile he'd take a walk out around the farm. Grandpa's family had owned the land previously to my folks.

Grandma would follow us to our bedrooms to see how our dolls were doing, what our homework was, or ask to see our collections (my sister, Lynn, had a perfume bottle collection). One time she challenged me to learn the counties in Idaho, tested me when she visited and paid me five dollars when I had learned them. Grandma always brought a box of candy bars or a gallon of ice cream. Sometimes she would scoop a handful of the candy bars from the box and walk over and give some to our neighbors--they had ten kids, too.

After we all ate supper together, as we customarily did (and embarrassingly enough, sometimes Dad would tell mother-in-law jokes at it), Grandpa and Grandma would give us a hug, get in their sedan or station wagon and drive the 25 miles back to town. Then, in another month they'd come and visit again.

I have many big memories of Grandpa and Grandma: going camping at Aunt Jean's cabin, going on a trip to Israel with them, going to the Ice Capades and eating scallops for the first time. However, it wasn't until several years later that I fully appreciated the effort that Grandpa and Grandma put into those monthly trips to spend the evening with us. I'm sure glad they made the effort though because those little visits are some of my fondest memories with them.

What is one of your favorite grandparent memories,
being's yesterday was Grandparent's Day and all?

12 comments:

Emma J said...

I'm going to have to make sure Casey gets to read this. I think I really missed out by not joining the family until after their deaths.

Derek-Jenny-Kaitlynd-Ethan-Dylan said...

One of my favorite memories includes my Grandpa Mindar. He would always ask us if we were sick enough for a handful of medicine??? Little did he know they were M&M's he was offering! We were happy to hold our tummies and act real sick!

Ande said...

Reading this makes me grateful that you guys will be great grandparents.

Emma J said...

(quick question: what template are you using? It looks like Minima but it stretches wider than even Minima stretch does for me)

Deidra said...

We spent lots of time with my grandparents. I kept trying to pick favorite memories, but I couldn't pin down just one!

I like Ande's comment, and it reminds me of how awesome my parents are as grandparents.

melanie said...

I have so many memories of my grandparents. My grandpa is one of my heroes. We spent every vacation, day off of school, and many Sundays there. I'm so glad they loved having us there.

Ande is right, you will be perfect grandparents!!

Tiffany Fackrell said...

oh my, so so many memories. I LOVED living right in there backyard, absolutely LOVED it! I still LOVE going home and looking to see if Grandma is home. Of course I think one of my favorite memories is when I would go to the sale with Grandpa and WE ALWAYS stopped at the hostess store...that is why we served snowballs at my wedding. Or when I would go home with him after church and we would "get lost" Also doing yard work with Grandma and then her taking us to woody's to get Italian Ice's, and just going and talking to her for hours on end, I did that a lot the older I got!!

I LOVE how we are close enough for Cambree to LOVE and get to know her grandparents, I hope it can always be that way!!

Haley Krumblis said...

Grandma McManus would take me shopping every summer. We would spend hours walking up and down the isles at Target or the mall. Trying clothes on or picking up small trinkets. Grandpa would sit on the bench with his book for hours. When we had bags he would watch them and drive us around to each store....I also remember visiting them with Cali and Grandma McManus had huge sacks of toys hidden under our bed, since we were the only girls of the family!

Alisa said...

My Grandaddy calling us "sweet thing"-
I could always count on a call anytime there was some kind of talent show, or beauty competition- and my Grandaddy telling me that I had them all beat.
My Grandparents have all passed away in the last 3 years, and my grandparents on my moms side house is set for closing at the end of this month. It is a bitter sweet end. I went over and recorded all the sounds of the home. The door squeaking when it opened and shut, the rotary phone dialing and ringing, the door from the kitchen and garage opening and closing.
Good memories.
I agree, you will be a wonderful Grandmother. (hopefully that was taken in the right way, and not implying you are old!)

Anonymous said...

My Grandma and Grandpa Kellogg had a small house with heavy curtains that closed the rooms off from each other. When we would spend the night, the curtains did not muffle the snoring sounds and we 3 girls would get to giggling in the chenille covered bed. In the morning, Grandma would serve us breakfast on little stools and chairs IN FRONT OF THE TV! My Grandpa would offer us sardines and shoot rubber bands at us---we loved it.
---BRENDA

Becky said...

Those are fun memories! Although I can only imagine the amount of tension involved between the adults during each visit.

My Grandma Jarman used to own a craft store and when she shut it down she kept a lot of her supplies in a room of her house as well as at their cabin in the mountains. I have fond memories of spending hours sorting through all the beautiful beads and other misc. junk :)

michelle said...

A child who regularly gets to see his/her grandparents is a fortunate child indeed. I was lucky enough to live near my grandparents from ages 4-12, and I loved it so much. We forged strong bonds that have lasted all these years.

We had sleepovers at my grandma's house about once a week, and for some reason, I would often get sick in the night. She would come in and hold my head.

We always slept over on Christmas Eve. I never wanted to go to bed. She would give me little tins of almonds to take to bed with me. And after Sunday dinners, she would send me home with my very own ziploc of homemade rolls which I would hoard in my room. She also took me to the bookstore and taught me to crochet.

I want to know how your grandpa got you all to comb his hair! That's a tradition I'd like to start around here...