One early afternoon several years after the passing of my Grandmother Maggie had unpacked some things we had stored . Some of those things unseen for all those years were packages of pillow cases and part of our “inheritance” from her. As Maggie unsealed those packages of pillow cases to drop them in the washer I shared with her a humorous memory and laugh at my poor Grandmothers expense…….
“I wish I could eat an egg…..I miss them.” …. my Grandmother told me one day as an Egg Beaters commercial played on her TV.
“Why don’t you?”
“Cholesterol……Doctor told me I have to be careful.”
“ You’re 90 years old…be a devil and eat an egg.” …. this was the unwelcome advice I offered her and with disdain she reminded me of Uncle Joe….her brother… who a few years earlier had passed prematurely at the tender age of 89.
“Joe didn’t watch his diet and look what happened” was the sharp reminder I received. It was a wonderful memory of her shared with my wife though it was forgotten by bedtime…..
Now I’ll tell ya….I have memories that can just plain put me to sleep. I also have memories that can keep me awake through half the night and that night found me tossing and turning with little chance of ready sleep. Deep into the night I flipped the pillow yet again to slam my head angrily back upon it when the pain bit sharp and deep into my ear.
The cause of the pain turned out to be a sharp three sided religious medallion bearing the image of Mother Mary holding Baby Jesus. My Grandmother, being devout, would place such items in places like her pillowcase to protect her in her sleep…..and somehow I believe it would have protected me in mine that night ……. if my ear didn’t hurt so much.
