Sisters, Daughters, Mothers and May

May is a month of days about women.

Mothers Day.We all have one, and whether they have passed or are living, whether the relationships are/were healthy or dysfunctional, we have an awareness of the day.

Teacher Appreciation day - Yes, I know that not all teachers are women, but I never envision men when I think of the teachers in my life. I think of women.

My sister's birthday, the birthdays of both of my grandmothers and Mothers Day are all in the first two weeks of  May.

I have written here about my daughter, my mother, my mother-in-law, my mother's mother and my sister in previous posts. I do not think I have written very much about my father's mother, my Granny Smith. Let me tell you a bit about her.

Mattie Mae Ernest Smith. She passed away when I was in the seventh grade, in the Spring.

She was a gentle soul with an iron backbone. She was the center of the family, holding together all of them as her husband was away from home most of the time. He was an engineer for the railroad. She had two sisters, Okie and Maude, and a brother Harry who also lived in the same county. Her family was originally from Sugar Grove in Smythe County. She met her husband when she was working as a seamstress in Bluefield, WV.

They traveled by passenger train to Bristol to marry, and had eight children. Sons JT, Poss and Norman. Daughters Zelma, Fay, Sue, Geraldine and Christine.

I grew up within walking distance of my grandparents home, and have enough memories of them to fill a book. She loved flowers, and sewing. She would drink hot tea and eat cucumbers in the afternoon. She had long hair that she wore in a bun. Her hair was snow white. She kept a leather change purse and a handkerchief in her bra and she always smelt slightly of lavender.

Granny was a loving person, and soft spoken always.

I hope in some small way I can be like her.