Well, I was born on the 20th day of October, 1981 at Mercy Hospital just on the outskirts of Minneapolis, Minnesota to a fantastic, heroic woman. My very first memory looking back, though, was of going to my grandmother's house when I was just a bitty kid and being frightened by her wearing a fake, old-lady mask with rubbery gloves to match. Maybe I was four? I have so many memories of my grandparents' home. The taste of juicy, deep fried chicken and the apple crisp! Ahh...my cousin Patrick and I would beg grandma to make apple crisp, she'd respond, "Well, go out and pick some!" There were many weekends I would stay with my grandparents a.k.a. The Best Babysitters Ever!
My grandpa and I had a Saturday morning ritual- breakfast at McDonald's. My grandpa would always go to bed so early so he could wake up by 2am to be to work by 4am. So on Fridays, I'd stay up late with Grandma watching The Three Stooges, Lassie, Mr. Ed, Leave It To Beaver, The Patti Duke Show or The Andy Griffith Show...then I'd fear that my grandpa would leave me if I didn't wake up in time to go to McDonald's. So, after I'd hear him pour his coffee, I would sneak out to the living room, peek my head around the kitchen corner, confirm he hadn't left yet, then sneak back into the living room to sleep in his chair for awhile. He'd wake me up about five hours later, always with the same grin and ask, "You ready to go?". I still get a chuckle out of this! Another fun memory with my grandparents was when we'd go to the OCB (Old Country Buffet for some of you who aren't in the Minneapolis area). Grandpa and I would always have a race to see who could eat the most desserts. This drove grandma a little crazy, for I'd always end up sick, rolling around in the backseat in pain from eating so much and with grandpa asking, "Amber, you want to stop at your favorite place, Dairy Queen?" Terrible! I never knew how he always had so many more than me and won...until I was older when he let me in on his secret, "I put less in my dessert bowls." Got it. Makes sense. Yep.
My grandparents were really there for me, always. They meant the world to me. Still do. My grandmother and her uncanny way of whipping up the best tasting meal in no time flat, always with a lot of energy and constant conversation, cigarettes and coffee. If she wasn't watching Highway to Heaven, Little House on the Prairie, or The Waltons...there were always scary movies or Wheel of Fortune. Ha! We'd talk about the programming we were watching and I think those shows truly instilled some strong family values in me from a young age. I am grateful for the fourteen years I had with my grandma before she passed. Her stories of courage, her life with her sisters, how she met my biological grandpa and then my closest confidant Don (who I call my grandpa above and below). The road trips up north to Grand Rapids (where my grandmother was from) with Nerds spilled all over the backseat or gum stuck in my hair. My grandpa singing songs like, "Did you see that skunk in the middle of the road...?", with a 'twist' that made it quite fun for a little kid, "all smashed up with blood coming out of it's noooose..." I would "EWWWWWW" and laugh until I cried!
I would sit and watch the news on my grandpa's lap as he'd explain how stocks worked. He'd start to doze off and I'd say, "Grandpa! Are you falling asleep?" and he'd reply, "Nope, just shutting one eye." I fell for that one too. So gullible-still am at times, darn it! We'd go to garage sales and I'd usually pick out pictures of Jesus or anything related to Michael Jackson. I've actually learned a lot from both, honestly, but I'll cover that later.
The gratitude I have for my grandparents cannot even be measured. They were both funny, kind, empathetic, fun, loving, giving, wise and...sober. Didn't know that last part until I was in my teenage years. Ramona Murphy and Donald Eldredge, Grandma & Grandpa, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Grandpa, if you're reading this, I'm coming over to see you!
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