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Watching Grandmamma My daddy made sure I knew he would not tolerate unacceptable behavior. He was a strict but loving father who was always there for me. I can still see him shake his head over an embarrassing display of poor manners or behavior from me or someone else. He had two main ideas. First, everyone in the family was as important as everyone else, baby to grandma. Second, parents should set a few unchanging rules, enforced by appropriate rewards and punishments. Of course, challenging situations will always arise. At the supper table one evening, I watched as my grandmother, who suffered from unwieldy false teeth, mashed up her pinto beans, crumbled cornbread on top, and used bean juice to soften it. To a child of 5, that looked like the thing to do, and I copied her. Daddy looked at me, then at Mother. He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. Later, when I was scolded, I was confused. I had used my fork and my napkin. I had eaten it all. But the hardest part for Daddy to get around was, “Grandmamma did it!” Linda Sinclair, Boone, Blue Ridge Electric |
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