By Frances Bryce, March 4, 2021 — I‘m not a grandmother, a biological [one] that is. I have had the honor of being like a grandparent to my best friend’s grandchildren and enjoyed the many stories of other grandparents.
I am reminded of stories from my children. My daughter was between 3 and 4 years, I believe, when she responded to her father when she was reminded of behavior that was not acceptable and was sent to her room which was upstairs. As she went up the stairs, she called him “Meanie, Meanie Mustache.” She was upset one evening when she asked her father to get her some ice cream when she heard the bell tinkling from not far away. As usual, he was reading, because he was a prolific reader, and he said “Okay,” but he did not put the book down in time to get outside before the truck arrived and passed. He came back and said that he had missed the truck. So, she said, “What kind of father are you?” He pivoted, got the keys, and got into the car. He returned to have ice cream for all. Again, a great father that only took ice cream to solve.
The most memorable event happened when she had her response while we were shopping, and mostly window-shopping, and I saw in the window, as she did, furs from animal skin. And I said, “Oh, don’t they look pretty?” And she said, “They only look great on the animals.” I never bought a fur coat of any animal and of course, I have never forgotten that moment. And later we had a conversation about that when she said, “Mom, you could have really bought a fur coat later because they now use minks and so forth.” But I had no desire to get a fur coat after that stand.
One day my son and I were in the car and the radio was on and somehow the conversation came up about slavery and he wanted to know what was slavery. And so, I told him. Among the things I said, there were people, my great grandparents who were sold into slavery, and they were like purchasing a chair or a bed. And he said, “How can people be sold? They are priceless.” I never forgot that statement.
Later … when he was very young, he would use words that equated to similar words that he knew such as “elbow foot,” which [meant] he was trying to tell me that something was wrong with his ankle. And the next thing was a “fingernail toe,” as a toenail. I recall these very early periods when he wanted me to know what he wished to express and didn’t have all of the words and understanding of it.
He always had a protective sense of fairness when he saw kids his age being treated unfairly. He came to their rescue.
I sometimes share with grandparents a parent’s recollection and still enjoy all the good tales that the grandparents tell me