Senior Citizens, if you could go back and spend a day with any of your grandparents what would you do?

I would love to spend a day with my grandmother who died when I was a baby, she was a Cherokee descendant and loved to used natural medicines. I would ask her about her ancestry, the names and any stories of the Trail of Tears that she may have heard, the use of herbs, Cherokee recipes, and cultural questions and about her young life, and show her photos that I have from her and Grandpa's box of photos and see if she could tell me the names of those people, some of them were around the turn of the century.

I would also love to have a long talk with my other grandmother and ask about the family tree, about her young life on the farm (she got married at the age of 15) and the way of life. I'm sure I would get a good education from both grandmothers.

I'd like to spend the day in the kitchen with her helping her make our favorites and talking about family history and stories about her childhood in the late 1800's. She wore a homemade apron all day, smelled so good and had such a wonderful laugh.

I lived with her for a few years after college up until she passed away in 1985. I still think of her whenever I hear Lawrence Welk type muscic. Good times.

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All that remained of my grandparents was my paternal grandfather when I was born. He taught me Canasta when I was ten. My maternal grandfather died of grief, they say, a year after his wife was killed by a drunk driver. But I have my doubts, since she left him 9 children to continue raising. It might have been dying of fear instead. I named my son after him. My maternal grandmother committed suicide after learning that the Canasta teacher had a woman on the side, my step-grandmother, who was a tyrant.

If I could go back and spend a day, I'd let my accident grandmother know I write, too, then ask her to read me something she wrote. I'd tell her husband he has a namesake, and tell my self-inflicted grandmother how much I disliked the tyrant. Then gather all three at a big, round oak table of old and feast on Thanksgiving.

I never met either of my grandmothers or my maternal grandfather. They died before I was born. I would like to meet my mother's parents and give Pop a hug, of course, but I'd really love to spend some time with my dad's mother. I would tell her that, even though I never knew her, she's always been one of my role models. My mother always spoke so highly of her and told me such wonderful things about her, I know I would love her.

For example: A couple from Indianapolis moved to West Baden. He had made his fortune and they wanted to live the rest of their lives in a small town. They did their shopping in town, hired local people to do the work on the old house they bought, joined the local church where my grandmother was a well established mover and shaker, and really tried to fit in. One day at church, my grandmother heard some people gossiping about them, They criticized the man for wearing a white silk suit to church, he "looked like a Hollywood gangster," and his wife for having pierced ears, "the certain mark of a harlot." My grandmother was furious! When she got home from church, she got her sewing box and went to her bedroom. When she came out, she had pierced ears! The next Sunday, she went to church wearing big red buttons, strung on red thread, in her ears. No one could miss seeing them. No one said a word. They wouldn't dare call my grandma a harlot. That took nerve, but my grandma had plenty of that.

I'd love a chance to get to know her.

I never met either of my grandmothers.

They both came from very different backgrounds and each sounding like people I would of loved to have known.

One grandmother was a one armed Ukrainian women who had 9 children, she came to the US alone with my father and aunt on a ship in 1928. Her husband was waiting for them in the US.

My other grandmother was half Mohawk Indian and my mother and aunt where her children from her second husband, my grandfather.

She was married the first time to a full blooded Mohawk man and had a son with him.

My aunt said her mother used to make allot of beaded wear as a hobby, my mother never mentioned any of that to me, perhaps it was a painful memory because her mother died when my mom was 13 after being seriously ill for a couple of years before hand.

Both so different but they both sounded like tough women who had a hard life but did so much for their children.They each died in their mid 40's.

Just once more, would I love to sit at my grandparents' table on their last farm to eat

grandmas' fried chicken and German dumplings, the way only she could make them.

To say grandma cooked comfort meals, is a vast understatement. For everyone ate

until they were filled to the maximum. That's how great the tastes of her cooking was.

And she cooked to please. I'd not only love to be eating one of her meals, but I'd love

to have the time to talk to them about their youth, and how they met. I knew so little

about their younger days. I only heard of their depression hardships and when they

came out west to beat their hunger problems with five young daughters, who pulled

the weight of boys their ages. I knew they worked hard on that N Dakota farm. And

they lived in hand me downs, and though they had no toys, they found a few ways to

entertain themselves with the animals they raised. Yes, I would have loved the chance

to get to know my grandparents more than I did. As I have too many questions to ask

of them today.

My paternal grandmother. She was a MARKSMAN who had a reputation for being a better shooter than most men. She had 2 favorite hunting dogs and was in the newspapers. We had a picture of her with her dogs, gun and many fowl laid out at her feet, but it was destroyed in a house fire...

She lived in Ohio. She met Annie Oakley!

Her son, my dad, was born in 1911.

When I knew her, she & gramps lived in FRESNO. They had a cloth-covered porch swing...omg that was the most wonderful creation on earth, I'd like to sit in that thing with her & hold her hand.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a_ocWfRejv0/T6vhkTjMHyI/...

I would love to spend one good hour talking to my grand father on my father's side who gave me the last name I carrie - would love to know more about his history so I could trace the family name back - have an Aunt who was in the DAR but every thing is very sketchy.

I would love to spend one more warm summer night sitting on my Grandparents screened-in front porch eating ice cold watermelon.

I would ask questions too. Mostly about their parents and childhood and stories about raising their 7 children.