Home  •  News  •   Lifestyles  •  Sports  •  Classifieds  •   Advertising

My grandmother...
A marvelous living spirit

   The best part about having your own column is that you can write, just about, whatever comes to mind.  One of the most important stories that I have written is about my grandmother.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing and living it.

   As a child, I remember my beautiful grandma in a different way than I do now.  Being a child I really didn't understand the true meaning of "mother" until I became one.  One of the most meaningful memories I have of her is her monthly visits to Andrews, with my mother and I.   We would travel to Patricia and pick her up at the "hideout." Her house was the kind of house that grew with the family.   The bigger the family got the bigger the house became. 

   When you walked into her home, you immediately felt at home.  Although it was not the best looking house, it still held it's own value.  A true value of love.  She had everything from chickens to pigs, but would not be complete without the goats.  She would begin to load up her stuff into the trunk of the car.   Instead of luggage, her items were packed into plastic bags from the local grocery store.  The bags included her best pots and pans and church clothes. The most important item she carried was her purse that was at least ten years old.  She held on to it as if it contained a million dollars.  It held nothing but the necessities of life, (as she would put it).   It held nothing more than toothpaste, toothbrush, an orange hairbrush, gum, writing pens and paper.  Let's not forget her perfume wrapped up in toilet paper.  In addition, most important, what she lived for…her bible. 

   We would finally arrive in Andrews.   She would send me to the store to buy all the newspapers that the store carried, plus she wanted to know where the volume was on the television and to know where NBC was, so she could watch Peter Jennings. 

   I remember pulling up to the house, and I could smell the fresh aroma of Hispanic home cooking, and I could hear exactly what she was watching on TV.  I think back and wonder if the whole block could hear what she was watching.  I would walk in, and, of course, she could not hear me.  I would stand by the front door and watch her in the kitchen.  She was barefoot with a church dress on, plus an apron, just in case we had company.  Her dress was very simple; she bought most of them at thrift stores or garage sales.  However, when she put it on she was beautiful.  With her salt and pepper hair waving as it almost touched the floor. Every burner had a pot and a pan full of something that I would not eat then, but crave to this day.  I would hug her from behind, and she smelled of never-ending tamales, her freshly washed hair and the scent of her perfume mixed with hardworking mist. 

   She would turn around and say, "I knew you were there," with a giggle.  I would touch her hands that were so rough from all the years of working in the fields to provide for her family.  However, they were also so soft from washing dishes all day. 

   We would sit and talk about how different the world is today, and how much we as kids take such advantage of life.  She would say that life is a wonderful gift so be thankful.   She would often tell me, though, give thanks to the Lord; if it were not for him, we would not be here on earth. 

   She had a living spirit that could not be described but in one word; it would be marvelous.   Sometimes I have regrets. Nevertheless, what gets me through the day is that, someday in heaven, I will get to do all of the things I did not do then.  For now, she lives in my heart as well as her memory. The one thing that I think about is…don't ignore the little things in life that come your way; they come your way for a reason, and these reasons are the most meaningful.

Lifestyles Editor Priscilla Rider:

Priscilla Rider has been employed with the Andrews County News
for over two years, and has been the Lifestyles Editor for over a
year.  She, and her husband of nine years, Rusty, have an 8-year-
old son, River.

Priscilla writes a feature column, Reflections, which is published
in the Sunday editions.  Reflections, as the title suggests, is about
her past and present encounters with life including it's ups, downs,
and in-betweens.

Mrs. Rider is also a one-year cervical cancer survivor and utilizes
her writing capabilities to bring awareness and support to cervical
cancer research.  When not writing, she enjoys spending time with
her family and hobbies, such as painting, reading, and always has
her hands full with special projects around her home.

You may comment on Prissy's article here:
familynews@basinbroadband.com

Lifestyles Submissions

The Following are
Printed free-of-charge:
*Weddings
*Engagements
*Parties
*Showers
*Anniversaries
*Quinceañeras
*Birth Announcements
*Military News
*College News
*Graduations

Note:  Lifestyles Editor reserves the right to edit submissions
for space constraints and spelling/grammatical errors.

Call/E-mail Lifestyles Editor for submission guidelines.
Photos welcome.  E-Mailed submissions preferred.

FORMS

All forms are in PDF format.
Simply click & print.

ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT