(Yes, I’m on the left :) It’s been about a week since I’ve been on social media, or interacting with anyone besides family. But as I await for my connecting flight to Denpasar from Doha, I started to think of all the forgotten details that were buried about my Grammy…here’s a list of “Grammy-isms” that helped me through last night:

•  “like 40 going North”
•  ankle sock footies with pom poms on them
•  “frigadaire” (not fridge or refrigerator)
•  leftover plastic cigar cartridges
•  the sweet stinging scent of Big Red cinnamon gum mixed with Newport cigarettes
• “aint that a kick in the bucket”
•  seagram’s gin
•  never relying on a wallet to stash cash. The real dollars went in the 4 pockets of your bra: over the boob, under the boob and in the side straps around the ribcage
• always make a uniform your own. She wore black and white, but there was always makeup, a pin, a bracelet, something to make it unique and attractive
• warming up generic black eye liner with a lighter to paint her lower lid only…tried doing that as a pre-teen and nearly burned my eye out!
• peppermints
• cookies from that blue, round tin can brand
• the first person I knew to employ others who needed it with her few coins to plant her garden, mow the lawn, etc  
• taking tupperware to all you can eat joints
• Far Away fragrance by Mary Kay
• split pea soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
• chilling Thanksgiving leftovers on the backporch
• watering the lawn and inside plants were an enjoyable chore
• racing to be the grandkid to get the day’s lotto numbers
• the burgundy Arizona jeans from JCPenney she bought me when she won (among other things, they were my favorite)
• how she loved us all, but we were each her favorite….

To be continued….