Comments on: love thursday: a grandmother’s influence

By: Bleeding Espresso » meet the newest about.com guide!

Bleeding Espresso » meet the newest about.com guide! — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:58:48 +0000

[...] left behind. One item was my law school ring, pictured at left, which I actually only got because my grandmother begged me to let her buy it for me as a graduation [...]

By: Pellet stove help

Pellet stove help — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:42:59 +0000

haha…just reminds me of my grandma… i remember when she once smoked before she finally quit. I really hated her smoking and would always ask her smoke in the back garden and i did not care if it was the coldest night in the UK, i would make her stand in the snow.

Now she has gone these are the things i miss the most…

Pellet stove help’s last blog post..Mt. Vernon AE Insert By Quadra-Fire

So true, so true….

By: Paolo

Paolo — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:26:00 +0000

Did she speak English as a second language? That’s a really impressive hobby if so… an even moderately difficult cruciverba kicks my butt.

Buon compleanno (in ritardo) a Mam Mam.

By: JT

JT — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:44:00 +0000

I’ll always remember Mam Mam and my mother playing Scrabble for hours at that kitchen table. You could cut the smoke with a knife. I even remember bringing one of those ashtrays with the battery operated fan and filter over for them…but that was like taking a water pistol to a forest fire. And once, when I actually objected to their smoking…Mam Mam just said, “You are right, Sweetheart…but if you really care about us…you will promise Mam Mam (she always went third person on me for emphasis), to remember what you are saying and never start this terrible habit…because I am telling you from many years of experience, that once you start, you may never be able to quit. And (as she looked over at my Mom) I just hope you will someday, Diane.”

At a doctor’s visit, about 15 years later…the habit was scared out of my Mom’s life. She was told that if she didn’t quit smoking, she would probably die a very young woman. She decided to quit cold turkey…and at 64, she is still with us and hasn’t smoked another cigarette in over a decade.

My father also decided to quit, but it was too late. Just a few months after he quit, he suffered a mild stroke, which revealed major heart disease…and without going into the sad details of an ever progressive decline in one’s health, when suffering from a combination of progressed heart disease, diabetes and then, the aftermath of open heart surgery…his life ended a few rough years later, at the ripe old age of 61.

Much like you, I was raised in a house with parents that smoked…yet neither I nor my brother ever have.

Perhaps, there is something to be said for their child rearing methods of torture by second hand smoke…that’s enlightened us to avoid following them down such a risky road.

I cannot wait until this world decides to do the right thing and ban the damn things forever.

It is truly one of the world’s biggest examples of how much further we still need to evolve as a planet. To even consider that there are any redeeming needs, (sans $$$ and greed), for the manufacture, sales and inhalation of tobacco products is absurd.

For if it weren’t for this crap…so many Mam Mams and Dads of this world would still be with us to enjoy much more richer lives!

By: Leigh

Leigh — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:03:00 +0000

My grandmother - “Nannie” - just passed this week; she was 89. She was waked on 1/25/07, which would have been her 60th wedding anniversary (my grandfather passed in 1988).

I’m hiding out on my couch right now googling for blogs about grandmothers; I’m totally at sea right now…I have a big loving family nearby but I need some quiet, and some others’ articulation about their elders.

I really enjoyed your post, and look forward to reading others on your blog.

PS: Nannie quit smoking in her early 80s to support her son who was quitting at that time!

By: nyc/caribbean ragazza

nyc/caribbean ragazza — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:37:00 +0000

Beautiful post, thank you for sharing memories of your grandmother.

By: sognatrice

sognatrice — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:24:00 +0000

How interesting that so many of us had the same anti-smoke experiences with those we love!

As for the family resemblance, I have that picture of my grandmother here, and many people have asked whether it’s me. I never really saw the resemblance–actually I look so much like my mom (who, um, is *not* this grandmother’s daughter), but after having so many people point it out, I suppose it’s there. Funny, I never really thought I looked Italian (my grandmother was 100% Italian)

By: The Other Girl

The Other Girl — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:29:00 +0000

What a beautiful post. And Christina is right; you and your grandmother could be twins.

By: Bongga Mom

Bongga Mom — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 07:18:00 +0000

How wonderful to have so many memories of your grandmother. Thank you for sharing your love for her with us.

By: PastorMac's Ann

PastorMac's Ann — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:39:00 +0000

What a wonderful tribute to your precious Mam Mam. I so enjoyed this post because in so many ways she reminded me of my own mom.

Thanks for sharing this with us. Thanks.

Happy LT