A Martyr In Lace and Five and Dime Cologne

Grandmother taught us tradition matters in that it must be passed on from one generation to another, she showed us the old-world ways of baking, healing, story-telling and nurturing. Grandmother's apron was a symbol of her time, it gave her the status of good housekeeping woman, elbows deep in flour, pies baked from scratch, polishing the silver to be put away in its mahogany box, scrubbing and waxing floors till her knuckles bled. Grandmother was a martyr in lace and five and dime cologne who reminded friends and neighbors that her husband died many years ago, leaving her with five small children who grew up and did well. Grandmother saved Saturdays for her grandchildren by treating us with a ride on the city bus to downtown for lunch where we would order club sandwiches and coffee with plenty of cream and sugar making us feel very grownup. Grandmother is gone but her ways are not forgotten.