1 post tagged “lineage”

I've been having moments throughout the last few days about my grandmother. She's been dead now more years than I could calculate. She was my Polish grandmother. The more uptight one, in a way. Yet there was a pretty cool woman under all the social norms she felt she had to present.

She never got to see me as a "real" adult. She died when I was just graduating High School. She loved me most, more than any of her grandchildren and that's really the truth. While I am spectacular, believe me, it wasn't hard to be the best amongst that kennel club.

I am a "real" adult now. Successful and all the things she would have been happy to hear. She was proud of me just for being me, but I'm sure she'd be happy to know I've achieved adding the needless frippery to my life too.

It's when I can buy stuff for my home that I have been thinking about her. She loved to shop. Not particularly for furnishings (like I do), she was way more into clothes, but what I remember about her is the stuff she had in her house. My grandmother's household was 100% a product of that period in the 20th Century where the old started trying to be new. The period we still often encounter today when something new comes out and everyone buys it, but it's not yet been perfected so it wasn't particularly a smooth transition. They were the first people to have a microwave and that large dinosaur of a microwave lasted well into the late 1990's.

Something I did recall yesterday while looking at Target's colorful plastic plate selection is that my grandmother had plastic dinner plates, bowls and coffee cups! They were thick and blue with a sort of matte finish, not shiny. I can't remember if she had any glass plates. She must have. Though it dawned on me that I bet having plastic dinnerware was quite a unique thing in the 50's ... 60's ... 70's, whenever plastic plates would have been first invented. She had a matching blue coffee creamer and sugar bowl too.

Today I suppose plastic dinnerware is a bit cheesy, even though some of those colorful plastic plates from Target caught my eye. There was also something about my grandmother's cutlery. I think it had plastic handles. It's the weirdest thing because I can remember holding them, but I don't know what it was or how it looked. They felt plastic.

That house was always pretty low key. A very quiet atmosphere was always provided there. Nobody ever was quite sure why I enjoyed sleeping over there as a child, because it was so quiet and non-eventful. I don't really know why either. It was a rather large house that my grandfather built. It was on a large farm. If I was anymore adventurous and independent back then I would have had a ball exploring all those acres.

I think she would like my house. Most old people do. My house is like something classy dipped in Salvador Dali. It's like a circus, but far more dark and amusing. I have done things with myself and my surroundings that most older generations always wished they could have done but didn't think they were allowed to. That's pretty cool and that's why I often get lost in thoughts of family history. If nothing more than for knowing I am the sum total of my ancestors and in a lot of cases I have been the end result. A very fulfilling and appropriate end result. From my immigrants in 1753, to my great grandparents, grandparents and parents I think I have made them all proud. I think I am what they all wanted to become or achieve. I think most of us should feel that way.