October 1, 2008

Grandmother We Never Knew


Teri, Tammy, Megan and I have several "Schell Girl" traditions that we enjoy - one of them is Girls' Weekend sometime during the summer. We started this tradition shortly before Mom died, and have had a girls' weekend every year since. One of our most treasured Girls' Weekends is the one we spent with Mom in Estes Park. We spent time cooking, eating, hot tubbing, watching chick flicks and talking. This past August we spent several days with our Aunt Fran in Orlando - cooking, eating, swimming in the pool, going to the ocean and lots of talking and visiting with her and members of her family. We also spent time looking through hundreds of Aunt Fran's pictures and slides. Two of the treasures that we got were copies of these pictures of our grandmother, Frances, who we never knew because she died when our dad was only 16 years old and Aunt Fran (her youngest child) was only 18 months old. Aunt Fran was raised by her paternal aunt, who she considers her Mama.

I have often wondered what my relationship with my Grandma Frances would have been like. After asking my dad about her, I've come to the conclusion that she cherished many of the things that I cherish, including the treasure of photographs and an education.

That makes me also wonder what my relationship with Anna will be like when she grows up. Will she treasure all of the sweet photographs that we already have and will continue to take of her? Will she love looking at the scrapbook pages that I have made for her? Will she love going to school every day? Will math be one of her favorite subjects? Even if the answer to any or all of those questions is no, I am still confident that we will find those things that we enjoy together, and I truly hope that she will not have to wonder someday what her relationship with me would have been like - she will know!

3 comments:

Terry said...

What a fabulous LO! Love the vintage feel to it. My sisters and I have often talked about a girls weekend but so far have never followed through. But, I do have girls weekend with one of my girl friend's every year.

Ginny said...

Tina,
Your words are so thoughtful. Anna already loves looking at the pictures you've sent her! Interesting story about Grandma Frances. Do you know who helped the family when she died? My Grandpa Mork's mom died, leaving 8 children behind. Grandpa's oldest sister took on the mother role from there, and many people from the community helped out. It's hard to imagine.
Ginny

Tina J said...

Aunt Frances went to live with relatives, but Aunt Tina and Aunt Wilma lived in an orphanage for a while. The other four children were old enough to stay home and help on the farm. Later, they all lived back with their dad (Gramps). After my mom and dad got married, they helped raise the girls and eventually Gramps lived with them too. I barely remember Gramps, since he lived with us when I was a baby - I was only 5 years old when he died.