Friday From the Heart: Fox Hollow - Gramma's Perspective

I had a whole blog written for today. It was amazingly constructed, grammatically correct, chock full of life experience and lessons learned, and it was HEAVY! Is there such a thing as TOO much heart on a Friday? Yes, I re-evaluated and decided that no one really wants to hear that stuff.

It was then, that I read today's My Grandma Huntington's Birthday post from my aunt's blog (joscountryjunction.com). She wrote about my great grandmother because today would have been her 112th birthday. As I read I remembered the stories that my grandma (Jo's mom) used to tell about her growing up years. There are so many things that I can remember learning from my grandma that are a direct result of what she went through.

Gramma introduced me to Tom T. Hall's "The Songs from Fox Hollow" album and all of the funny but cool songs. I listened to that album the other day while I was sewing just for old times sake and I have been meaning to blog about MY grandma. I have been thinking about her a lot lately because being the oldest grandchild, I knew her for 20 years. Some of my cousins never got to meet her in person. That makes me sad.

The things that I take for granted sometimes are some of the things that she wasn't here to share with my younger cousins. I have thought it would be fun to share some of her stories because I want all of her grand kids to know what an impact she made.

So today, I introduce some of you who may not have ever heard of Tom T. Hall to some great music! Gramma taught me some great lessons from the lyrics of these songs. She would let me know what the words meant and why they were important to remember. Here is what she taught as we would go along our way from the music of Tom T. Hall:

Gramma and a baby goat - spring in Minnesota
meant snow outside and baby goats in
Gramma's kitchen!

• "I Like to Feel Pretty Inside" = It is what is inside of us that counts, make sure you have a "pretty inside".
• "I Wish I Had a Million Friends" = Be kind to everyone, there isn't anyone in this world who doesn't need a friend. There will be times when you need one too.
• "Everybody Loves to Hear a Bird Sing" = Take care of the world that God gave us, we need to be good stewards of the our little corners of the world.
• "I Love" = Love one another
• "Barn Dance" = Life on the farm is hard work but there is always time for some fun!
• "I Care" = There is always someone around us who needs some extra care. Take time to care.
• "Mysterious Fox of Fox Hollow" = I don't recall ever really talking about this one out loud, but I knew that gramma knew there is evil in this world and she told us. There are those who want to steal your chickens and your lunch. Those kind of people don't have many friends and I certainly shouldn't be one of them!
• "The Song About the One Legged Chicken: = every life is important and no one should be tossed aside and forgotten.
• "How Do You Talk to a Little Baby Goat" = I don't know of any lessons really from this song other than that my grandmother knew how to talk to goats and did it well!
• "Ol' Lonesome George the Bassett" = no lesson here either other than it reminds me of going along with my gramma and aunt when they would show goats at the fair. Fun!

Gramma, Me and my Aunt Jo

There are so many other things that Gramma left me. I am thankful that I got to spend so much time with her. It was wonderful for my mom in her early marriage and parenting years to have the support of her parents close by when my dad was stationed in Thailand for a year. It was a blessing for me to have an aunt and uncles who were more like big brothers and sisters because I got to see them every day living on the farm like we did.

I have some great memories and I guess if you wanted the "heart" part of this post, I would say that I wish that I could offer something more to my children. I wish I could slow down their lives so they could appreciate the lessons and the people that surround them. I certainly would have loved them to be able to know Great Grandma Johnson

For now, I get to be creative. I get to think of ways to instill the counter cultural messages that I want my children to have as they grow and leave our home in not too many years ahead. I am thankful that I have what Gramma left me through her words and through the things that she taught my mom and aunt. I love that my kids have their grandma next door and that their Auntie Jo Gracie loves for us to pack up in the van and take a day trip to visit.

I will never forget my grandma. There are times when I still hear her voice and it makes me smile. I will close with the top three things that Gramma would love were she still with us today:

• ANCESTRY.COM - Gramma was a geneology detective. I remember visiting the house and the table in her front porch full of 3.5 cards, newspaper articles, papers, family trees, envelopes from distant relatives that she found. Gramma would LOVE what has been found since she left us!
• Computers - she would have one if she were here. She was always up on the newest things. She would be emailing and searching the internet. It would have been a dream to have so much information at her fingertips!
• Under Armour - Just like in the day she wore Zena jeans and Nike tennis shoes, I am sure that Gramma would have an Under Armour t-shirt and if she didn't, Stacey would buy her one!

This Friday from the Heart post turned out pretty good after all because Gramma is always in my heart!