FUN MONDAY - My Grandma

Jo at Chocolate and other Things we should tell her something fun about our mother and/or her mother. "What fun, weird, laughable memories do you have of your Mom or your Grandma?"

I have no laughable memories of my mother, not even weird once. She didn't have any influence on my life, but my grandma, her mother did. She was the most important person in my life when I was a child. She took care of me after my birth until I was 6 or 7 when I started to live with my parents. My mother was afraid of babies. (apparently this exists)

My grandma was born in 1895 and was 95 when she died. For her time she was a very modern women. Grown up with 11 siblings she swore to herself not to have more than one child, but after a first daughter she had another one, my mother. My grandma married late for this time she was already 24 which was very old for being a bride. She worked as a cook in a castle and was responsible for the whole kitchen and it's personel. She had to prepare dinners of 80 to 100 people sometimes. Then finally she married my grandpa who worked for the German railways and gave up her job.

She was quite an impressive woman. Tall, 1.75 (5.7) she of course had difficulties to find the right man. But my grandpa didn't care that she was a little taller as himself. My grandma ruled the household and settled all fights between her siblings or the neighbors. After my grandpa died she started to travel what she had always wanted. She was 74 when she took the plane for the first time and went to the States to visit her daughter in Madison/Wisc. There without any shy she talked to everybody in German and curiously everybody understood her. My grandma had no complexes whatsoever and wasn't afraid of anybody either.

When she was 86 she decided to live in a retirement residence and left her appartment. Without telling anything to the family she sold all her furniture, put all decorative things, plates, vases etc on the street for the garbadge collection. My cousin just could safe a few family things.

My grandma had decided to start a completely new life and for that she needed new things and new furniture. She bought everything new she needed for her flat a new TV included and moved in. It didn't take very long and she ruled the whole retirement home. She settled fights when a resident stole the false teeth from another and hid them, when they were fighting about a piece of cake etc. She also did all the accounting things for those who weren't able or didn't want to until she was 94 ! Most of the residents were much younger.

Each time we visited her coming back from Italy she had a Schnaps (strong white alcohol) and bottles of Baby Champ in her fridge, so that we would get fit again after such a long travel.
When we walked together we could hardly follow her she was so quick.

She died in front of her TV while watching her favourite soap opera where the nurse found her the next morning.

To me my grandma has always been my example and I wish I just could be like her until I have to leave this world.



my grandma at 20


and I at 20. We look quite similar.