Grandma’s Biscuits and…Her Dementia

It’s 3 A.M. as I write…can’t sleep…

Again.

This time I’m blaming my dog. My husband might have been sleep-talking as he rambled off something about the dog and an ear infection; either way his slumbered words sound like the voice of reason to me so I’ll have to get Eli into the vet because this whining and ear scratching is obnoxious—for not only the dog but me as well. Apparently it’s not affecting Nate’s sleep, after offering his ‘unprofessional vet diagnosis’ he’s back to quiet snores before even finishing mumbling.

Anyway after my last post I wasn’t sure I’d be able to write again…ever. There’s times when I share deep parts of my life on this blog and it causes me to feel so vulnerable. It feels like rather than pushing the “publish” button, I’ve just pushed “panic” instead and I begin to get swallowed by Satan’s lies ‘you’re crazy for putting that out there, what’s wrong with you? and blah, blah, blah’…because he’s just that irritating.

But then I have to remember why I originally chose to start this blog—it was never to showcase the best parts of my life through haughty sounding words, it wasn’t to reach a certain number of followers, nor was it to gain attention. It’s always been about noting the things and areas of my life in which God has spoken to my heart, sharing highs and lows and the lessons learned along the way, creating a legacy to pass down to my kiddos. All I want is for them to see how tough life can be BUT what prevails is loving Jesus like crazy regardless.

Perhaps the best part of this blog is being able to write my thoughts out and seeing how God has and is working in my life and then when someone comments on a post even three or four months later to let me know my words spoke to their heart…goodness, there’s just nothing like it. Glory to God alone, I’m then able to grasp that this whole blog is truly For His Purpose. Amen!!?

Not today Satan, not today! Even if it is 3 in the morning, I choose to use this time optimistically.

So on to Grandma’s biscuits and her dementia…

My grandma, I love this woman so much, from her humble heart to her hot-house-hospitality. Literally, she keeps it like 90 in there, even when she’s not cooking!!

There’s just something about my grandma’s personality: her stories, her genuine faith, her sweet clean-kept house with farmhouse charm, her biscuits, and now her dementia. I’m drawn to her and all of those memories we’ve made along the way. At this point I’ve probably heard her stories a hundred times each, so now they’re really locked in my memory vault. I especially love when she tells me stories of my dad and uncle, those ones never get old!

I’ve been going to my grandma’s for Thanksgiving dinner for as long as I can remember and I want to keep that tradition alive until it’s absolutely no longer possible. And now that I’m married and have children to walk up the worn steps with and into my grandma’s house it’s even more of a blessing.

My grandma has always insisted on making the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and her delicious homemade biscuits for years now…until last year…

As usual we all bring side dishes and my kids and I arrive a few hours early to help her in the kitchen where it’s needed. After we finished our meal (last year) my grandma lovingly but firmly told the family the work of preparing Thanksgiving dinner was too much and it’d be her last year cooking it.

Reasonably so.

So this year (2018 Thanksgiving) when she called and told me she wasn’t going to cook but that she was going to make the turkey, and since she was making the turkey she might as well make the dressing, and since she was making those things she might as well make the mashed potatoes and gravy along with her scrumptious biscuits…I was like ‘hmm…thank you dementia’.

I didn’t argue, instead I thought it’d be a great opportunity to get my girls and I over to her house earlier than normal and we’d come alongside her, she could show us the ropes.

We arrived before noon and got busy. She had started the turkey (stuffed with dressing) the evening before in a roaster, so that part was already taken care of but there was still plenty to do. Nevertheless I wanted to know how she prepared the turkey and dressing so I had her explain the process, which she did and at the end of her telling me she nonchalantly added that she’d stayed up until 6 A.M. preparing this turkey and stuffing and then went to bed until 9! She was running on 3 hours of sleep…sounded like a recipe for disaster to me! It’s only funny because it reminds me of Will Ferrell in the movie Elf when he says to the mom, “and I got a full 45 minutes of sleep!!”

Thank you dementia again…and thank you Folgers for the pot of coffee that was keeping her on the go at this point because cooking and baking are not my forte!

As the food prep persisted on, I thoroughly enjoyed watching my girls help in the kitchen with their great grandma.

Melts my heart.

She’s silly and so much fun. She’s as wild about those kids, as they are her.

In her quirky tone, I must have asked what she thought was a no brainer question because she replied and then finished with ‘duh’ and that became her go-to-word for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Oh she’s cute!!

When everyone else arrived, my grandma gathered us all around her dining room table and we held hands as she said grace just like we have all the years before. And in my opinion it was the best Thanksgiving dinner we’ve had yet!

Yesterday I called my grandma just to say hey and check up on her. I complained about how crazy busy I’ve been and her simple advice was that I needed to learn the word “NO!”…I need to learn to “unbusy” myself; and I agree wholeheartedly, after all my wise grandma’s full of truth and knowledge… ‘duh’!

Today my two younger kids and I will head to grandma’s later this afternoon to help decorate her Christmas tree and I’m sure she’ll fill the kids up on ice-cold apple juice and Little Debbie snack cakes and lots of hugs and giggles. And we’ll add to the precious memory bank once again.

What are your favorite holiday traditions?

Is there someone you need to be making more memories with as time quickly slips by?

Deuteronomy 32:7 -Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.

2 Corinthians 4:16 -Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.