My 2 Grandmothers

This time of year makes me think of Christmases past, and the people that have blessed my life. I was lucky enough to have both of my grandmothers in my life until I was in my 40s. My mom’s mom, Grammax, is on the left in this picture. Grandma Ruth, my dad’s mom, is on the right.

Grammax and Grandma Ruth were born 4 months apart in 1916. They each were from families with 5 children. Each graduated from Hamburg High School. They each married shortly after high school and made their lives in Sidney, IA, 10 miles from Hamburg. They each had a child in the Sidney Community Schools in the 1940s and 50s. Each of them took care of their mothers-in-law. They each made me feel cherished. And that’s where the similarities end. They were as different as two grandmothers could be.

My mom grew up in the country. Grammax and Grandpa Jesse built the house mom grew up in with their own hands. They didn’t have indoor plumbing until my mom was 13 years old. Grammax would walk my mother to the bus stop for school and then taught her how to dance the polka to keep warm while they waited for the bus. Grammax loved to dance! She taught us all how to waltz at an early age. She was happier outside than anywhere else. When I was young and I would stay with her at the farm, she would pack us peanut butter sandwiches and Shasta sodas and take me to have picnics at the “Picnic tree” just down the road from the house. She would point out the tree frogs and other critters we saw along the way. She always had a vegetable garden, and she made the best sweet pickles I’ve ever had.

Grandma Ruth lived in town. She liked to wear dresses and high heels. She wore high heels everywhere, including when she was cleaning the house. She wore bright pink lipstick and had her hair done every Tuesday. She would save the little sample lipsticks from the Avon Lady for me to play with. When I went to stay at her house, we played with toys that were neatly stacked away in the basement. She always saved the McCall’s magazine for me so that I could cut out the Betsy McCall paper doll at the back. She had a lot of costume jewelry that she let me play with if I was extra careful. She made lunch for my grandpa at 12 noon everyday, and when I was there, I got to make the lemonade for his lunch. She gave the best back rubs I’ve ever had.

So, you’re probably wondering why I called this entry, “The Sifter.” One of my favorite memories of the two of them is this:

I was home from college one Christmas break and I was making a carrot cake. (In case you didn’t know it, I make the best carrot cake you’ve ever had.) Both of my grandmothers were sitting at the kitchen table talking with me as I baked. It came time to make the cream cheese icing, and I was kind of in a hurry. I got out the confectioners sugar, and asked, “do you think I really need to sift the powdered sugar?”

At precisely the same time, Grandma Ruth said, “I always sift the powdered sugar!” and Grammax said, “Only a fool would sift that powdered sugar!”

And THAT sums up the differences in my grandmothers.

Merry Christmas, Grammax and Grandma Ruth! Thank you for blessing my days.

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