Girl Talk
One summer when I was maybe 8 or 9, my grandmother pulled me out of Vacation Bible School so she and I could drive a few hours south to the town where her sisters lived. She had wonderful sisters; they were farm women who cooked, handled their men, their homes and kids, raised cats and cows, fished, drove 4-wheelers, hunted mushrooms and went to church.
I don't know if it was that drive or some other time in the car with my grandma, but I thought the way she held her hands on the steering wheel, kind of like 9 and 3 but with her fingers spread across the wheel, was the most elegant thing.
But the story I remember most about this drive is one I've been told many times. I'm not sure if I really remember it or if I've heard it so often I can just picture it in my head.
But it goes something like this. My grandmother had a necklace I liked, kind of a silver ball with fringe that hung off it like a ponytail. I liked to turn that necklace upside down and pretend the fringe was long hair on the head of someone very lovely. And this lovely lady would talk to people, interview them actually. In this particular instance, she interviewed my grandmother, saying "Tell me, what do you think of people?"
It was a funny, profound, absurd thing for an 9-year-old to ask. Maybe that's why the adults remember it so well. But I was reminded of this story tonight when I put Abby in the bathtub.
See, things were heading south at the Romines. Jake was in a time out. Sam was in seclusion to avoid Jake. I'd put Abby in the tub because she decided to color herself purple. It was close to bedtime and no one had eaten dinner. That kind of night. But when I put Abby in the tub, she stretched her little legs, stuck her purple toes out one side and said, "So, let's talk about ourselves."
I don't know if it was that drive or some other time in the car with my grandma, but I thought the way she held her hands on the steering wheel, kind of like 9 and 3 but with her fingers spread across the wheel, was the most elegant thing.
But the story I remember most about this drive is one I've been told many times. I'm not sure if I really remember it or if I've heard it so often I can just picture it in my head.
But it goes something like this. My grandmother had a necklace I liked, kind of a silver ball with fringe that hung off it like a ponytail. I liked to turn that necklace upside down and pretend the fringe was long hair on the head of someone very lovely. And this lovely lady would talk to people, interview them actually. In this particular instance, she interviewed my grandmother, saying "Tell me, what do you think of people?"
It was a funny, profound, absurd thing for an 9-year-old to ask. Maybe that's why the adults remember it so well. But I was reminded of this story tonight when I put Abby in the bathtub.
See, things were heading south at the Romines. Jake was in a time out. Sam was in seclusion to avoid Jake. I'd put Abby in the tub because she decided to color herself purple. It was close to bedtime and no one had eaten dinner. That kind of night. But when I put Abby in the tub, she stretched her little legs, stuck her purple toes out one side and said, "So, let's talk about ourselves."
posted by Romine Family at 9:19 PM
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