Grandma Jettie

My grandma Jettie was my moms mother. My grandma was a precious woman who loved God very much, but she wasn't about dealing with people's BS either. LOL! She was a straight talking no nonsense kinda woman. She raised me in a small country church that was nondenominational. She always told me, "Jodie, when we get to heaven there's not gonna be a sign that says 'Baptist this way... Pentecostal this way... All that mess was somethin' made up by man. You see man has to have things his way, but it's not got nothin to do with him. Serving God is about lovin' God...Not lovin' yourself." Oh and love him she did.

I'm laying in front of my grandma's huge console TV. There's an air conditioner vent right in front of it... It feels so good to let the cold air blow on my cheek. I sit up and feel my cheek... It feels like squishy ice against my hand. Andy Griffith comes on the TV. The familiar tune hits my ears and I am instantly happy. I feel so peaceful and calm. Grandma's house is my favorite place on Earth. I have my thumb in my mouth and my pillowcase in the other hand...rubbing it against my cold cheek. Grandma is the only one who doesn't yell at me for either offense. She has a whole big drawer of pillow cases. As soon as mom leaves I get to go to her room and have my pick. I open the drawer and they smell just like her. Delightful! I instantly plan to sneak one home under my shirt when I have to go back.
We finish watching Andy Griffith and grandma gets up to cook. I follow her into the kitchen of the built on single wide trailer. She picks me up and sits me between the fridge and stove. "Grandma tell me a story about the river!" She laughs and I see her tiny worn down teeth. She's so beautiful to me. "What cha wanna her Hun?" I think about it...Anything would be good. I love her stories. The one about her sitting on a log that turned out to be a gigantic turtle or the one where her brother found a fish scale the size of his hand or the ghost cat! Oh I loved them all equally. She starts telling me one of her tales as she mixes up the batter for her cat head biscuits. I can't wait to eat one piping hot from the toaster oven with real butter! This is life at its best for me as a little girl.

I pop the last bite of the enormous biscuit in my mouth and we head to her living room. I grab my pillow case and lay on her soft tan/brown couch with a print I can't quite recall. She starts singing hymns. I close my eyes and listen to her words of praise and love to our God. Her tears start to flow as she prays out loud. I look at her with her hands stretched high toward heaven and the tears streaming down her face. I'm amazed and I bow my little head to do just as she does.

She dries me off with a towel that smells just like her pillowcase. They smell like love, like warmth, calmness, and comfort. She puts my panties and t-shirt on. We climb into her big squeaky bed. "Ok Hun. You want me to start?" She says. "Yes mam" I say back sleepy and content.
She starts..."Our Father, which art in heaven..." My little voice joins in unison..
"Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen."
"Good night baby she yawns. Sleep tight. I love you." Oh and I did...
In loving memory of Grandma Jettie. She was taken too soon, but I thank God for the time I did have her. She is without a doubt the reason I am the woman, wife, and mother I am today.