Things I've learned from my Grandmother.

I often find myself spouting the remarkably practical wisdom of my Grandmother. So I thought I'd write some down. Maybe you'll learn something!

When you're carrying a plate, put your thumbs over the edge. I remember being halted mid-stride on the way back from the buffet line by Grandma, firmly planted in my path, grasping the opposite side of my plate and telling me to hold it correctly - not just with my palm, or with one hand - but BOTH hands on the bottom, and BOTH thumbs up and over the edge, where she could see them. This, I'm sure, has saved me from more than a few disastrous spills.

Whatever you're drinking needs to be set down on the table at least a foot from any edge. The message here is that you (or your neighbor) might accidentally knock it off with your elbow. This became quite a fun boring, post-dinner conversation game for my siblings and I...we'd enjoy the fact that Grandma, so habitual about moving things towards the CENTER of the table, would actually get up from where she was sitting to more appropriately place whatever I'd slyly moved closer to the edge. Hours of fun.

Yes, you can make dinner from what you already have on hand. Creative programming, shall we say? I used to poke fun, but now it's a daily task I take on myself - how NOT to spend money on food, when I'm sure I can come up with something at home. Grandma always did! And somehow, there was always enough for everyone to share.

Everybody loves popcorn. How many times did I arrive for dinner at Grandma's, and she'd have popcorn in a big bowl on the coffee table? Sometimes chips...but most of the time, popcorn. In fact, it wasn't a pre-dinner snack necessarily - the popcorn was available to any guest, on any occasion, all the time. And despite someones initial, "No, thank you," after a few minutes, they'd start sneaking a piece or two. Feeding anyone who comes to your house was important enough to always be prepared. I always keep the air popper handy, just in case.

Don't ride your bike in flip flops. It's just not a good idea. I did, once, and wiped out pretty seriously on my bike. When I went to see my Grandma (who had been in a bad car accident and was in the hospital at the time), expecting to give her some sympathy and get some in return, someone must have told her about the details of my accident already - I was greeted at the door with, "What in the world were you thinking, riding your bike in FLIP FLOPS?!" I got a serious talking-to about the way I'd apparently disregarded one of the basic rules of life. (She's right. I could have lost a toe.)

It's worth listening. I was chronically trying to get out of conversations with my Grandparents, their dinner guests, or whatever random Friendship Force visitor they were hosting from some random country. Stories were told, ideas thrown around, culture exchanged, history remembered, and respect gained around Grandma's table. Looking back, I wish I hadn't checked out of those talks so easily. Having traveled, studied, talked, and learned a lot since those days, I wish I'd had my head in the game and asked all the questions I could think of. I wish the same for my Grandpa, personally. It's worth asking, and it's worth listening. I always saw my Grandparents looking to expand what they understood about the world, the people in it, and life in general. And if there's one thing they were right about, it's this. Time is short!

I'm certain I'll have to make a "Part II" on this theme - my Grandma is coming to live near our family, here in Rochester. She'll be here in a matter of days, and I can't wait to set about regaining some of the time we've lost in living so far apart for the last few years.