A Bouquet for Grandmother by Susan B. Townsend

Author:Susan B. Townsend
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Published: 2010-08-26T00:00:00+00:00

If God had intended us to follow recipes,

he wouldn’t have given us grandmothers.

—Linda Henley

My Grandmother—My Teacher

Throughout school and college, I was blessed with many wonderful teachers. I gained knowledge and skills from friends and coworkers, but the greatest lessons I ever learned came from a woman who never finished high school and never saw the inside of a college.

Like so many others struggling through the Great Depression, my grandmother, Virginia Sharp, had to quit school in the eighth grade to help bring money into the household. Sometimes she’d laugh and say, “You know, the ‘good old days’ weren’t so good for a lot of people.” But she never complained. She grew up surrounded by people with few possessions, no money, and little food, but those terrible times taught her something about life—something that made her a teacher with valuable lessons to share.

She never lectured or preached. Her lessons came from the way she lived. If a clerk at the store gave her too much change, she gave it back, even when there was barely enough money to pay for the groceries. “I can’t keep what ain’t mine,” she would say, as we left the store. On the rare occasions that she received a bonus at work or came into an unexpected windfall, she insisted on sharing it with the family and kept little, if any, for herself. “There ain’t nothing I want or nothing I need,” she would tell us. “Go get yourselves something with it.”

While the lessons about integrity, honesty, and generosity were important, there was one quality about my grandmother that stood out above all others. She was always there for her family and friends, and she loved them unconditionally. When I tried to tell her how much she meant to me, true to her nature, she shrugged it off. “Aw, son, I ain’t done nothing,” she said. “I’m just proud of how you turned out.”

My grandmother may think that she hasn’t done anything special, but I know differently. She’s been an influence on my life—and me—as great as any other. I’m proud of you too, Granny—more than you’ll ever know.

Steven Sharp

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