Mom's Family ....

Okay, so I misspoke in a prior post.  Mom was one of 10 kids.  She had 3 older sisters, and 6 brothers.  I couldn't imagine having that big of a family...   Not sure if they all were living in the house at the same time, because of the age difference of the oldest and the youngest, both boys, but even so, many had to share the same bed.   I was complaining in an earlier post about sharing a bed with my sister, that was sharing with one other person.  I cannot imagine sharing a single bed of any size with 2 or 3 others.

Having never met my Grandpa (Frank), I have not much to say on him.  I don't recall many stories about him, I was after all one of the youngest of his grand kids.  I think there were several of us he never met because he died in the 1956, kind of right in the middle when all his brood were off having or adding to their own families.  I just know he and some of his sons worked at building houses. 

After Grandpa died, three of Mom's brothers moved their families down to the Baton Rouge area to build homes.  I'm guessing they found a market where new homes were needed down South.  I got to meet all my LA cousins when I was 5 years old.   Mom and Dad got plane tickets and we all headed down there to visit for a few days.  I don't recall the flight to and from Baton Rouge.  I only have a few memories at all.  My Aunt Dot (married to Uncle Lambert) had a Chihuahua dog that barked and barked and scared me senseless.  We slept in a room, and it seemed like we slept on the floor in sleeping bags under a pool table.  Don't know why, just remember looking up at the underside of a table.  And I remember Aunt Mary Jo (married to Uncle Chip) scaling the catfish that some of the Uncles caught and I high tailed out of the kitchen when I saw all the blood in the sink. 

I was most fond of my Aunt Mary.   She had the Southern accent I loved, and she was the only relative I remember that gave hugs and kisses.  I loved that!!!   She'd call all the kids "sugar" when she answered their questions.  Mary was married to Mom's brother Maurice.  They were married nearly 50 years when she got melanoma and died from complications of the treatment while in the hospital.   Thankfully Brian and I had decided to go visit my relatives in LA the Summer before.  We only got to see them, and I truly believe that God worked that out just the way want He intended.  I got to see LA as an adult and have even more good memories of my Aunt Mary.  Sweet lady for sure!

Now Mom had 3 other brothers that never moved out of the metro area.   One was my Godfather Cyril, he was married twice, he lost his first wife Hazel when I was eight.  I remember his 2nd wife more, Aunt Marie.  Then there was Uncle Hubert (married to Aunt Margie).  He passed away the year my Dad was diagnosed with Bipolar disease.  Not sure what took his life, but Mom's family is plagued all around with heart disease and blood clotting issues.   Cyril had a few kids, Hubert had a huge brood like his parents.  And then there is my Uncle Francis.  He's the only bachelor, and still alive and kicking...though not like he used to do when he was in a Square Dance club many moons ago.  He takes care of driving his 2 widowed sisters (my Mom and my Aunt Alberta). 

Mom lost one sister a couple years ago, her name was Aunt Marcella.  Then there is Aunt Rosalie, she just celebrated 70 years of marriage to her loving husband, my Uncle Andy.  And Aunt Alberta, who goes by Berti, she lost her husband Alfred way back when I was a kid.   Uncle Francis drives his sisters to family events and to play cards wherever they are doing so.  Aunt Berti is 95 years old and doesn't get out much anymore.   Back in the day, Uncle Francis had everyone to his house, barbecue, chatter and card games, and LAUGHTER, that's all you would hear at his place all day long.  Kids roaming in and out of the rooms and outside.  We always had fun on that side of the family. 

And you know who nurtured this happy family and laughter and ritual of card games?   My lovely Grandma.   I have lots of memories of her.  She taught us 3 kids how to play simple card games, and all the Aunts and some of the Uncles and few of the cousins would love to sit at the big kitchen table and play card games that went quick and elicited laughter and fun times.   Grandma was a good cook, my sister and I found out one Easter when we stayed with her, and woke to smells of bacon and eggs, and every morning listening to the singing of "The Lord's Prayer" on the local am station.   Yes we had fun with Grandma and loved visiting her.   In 1973 when the big rivers all flooded, Grandma came and stayed with us.  That was fun!   The following year, when I was only 7, Grandma died after having a severe stroke, blood clots in her legs that had her lose a leg and then her life.  Hers was the first funeral I ever remember, and the first time I ever saw my Mother cry. 

  ....  family is the ever evolving group of people that give rise to memories and gives life meaning.

 

My Grandma and Grandpa Saale on their wedding day Sept. 14, 1915