My Grandmother’s Ten Commandments
Carole Wagener, Coastal Dunes Branch
I was six years old and remember holding my grandmother’s hand and climbing up her steep front porch steps which were worn thin over time. Many a child before me had run up them with excitement to be at her house, but I walked up them slowly. I still had some growing up to do and needed a helping hand from my grandmother.
It was apple-picking season and my mother was gone for the day. This time I didn’t cry when mama left, because I was excited to show grandmother my new fairy tale book. Old Fly, her beagle dog, howled hello from his pen as we sat down on the porch swing. The swing creaked, as we rocked, and she read to me. I felt happy because grandma had time to spend with just me.
Then grandmother led me into her simple country kitchen. She still cooked on a wood stove which provided heat and sustenance for the entire house. The kitchen felt warm and was a safe place to be.
I could smell the sweet aroma of homemade bread coming from the oven. While the bread baked, I sat on the wood bench and daydreamed. Above the bench was a medicine cabinet with a mirror. I thought of grandmother standing there at night combing her hair. She unbraided her buns. Her long hair tumbled down to her waist. She brushed her brown tresses one hundred times. In her long white nightgown she reminded me of a fairy princess.
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” I repeated aloud.
Grandmother chuckled and her eyes twinkled at me as I came out of my trance.
“Carole, your bread’s ready!”
She sat me down at her farm table and gave me my treat of a thick slice of warm bread covered with butter and homemade tart, red currant jelly and a tall glass of icy, cold lime Kool-Aid. As I ate it, I felt like the happiest girl in the world.
Now that I have become a grandmother, I often think of Grandma Anna. My grandmother lived a simple life, that’s true, but as I grew up she taught me these valuable lessons:
- I love and accept myself for who I am and expect others to love and respect me too.
- Simpler is better. Homemade and homegrown food tastes the best.
- Spending quality time with special people makes me happy.
- I respect my elders.
- I accept other people’s beliefs and faith.
- I speak kind words.
- I cherish and care for my animals.
- I enjoy spring and summer but prepare for autumn and winter too.
- When I feel stressed, I go back to nature.
- I treasure each day.
I will pass her legacy on to my own granddaughters. Together we will take time to just be.
Carole and husband William Wagener’s recently released hybrid memoir
The Hardest Year, a Love Story in Letters During the Vietnam War,
won a Military History Finalist Award from the International Book Awards.