I had three grandparents growing up, two on my mom's side and my grandmother on my dad's side. All three were wonderful, incredible and amazing people. And someday I will tell you about my dad's mom, what an amazing woman she was, and how she impacted my life in so many, many ways.
But today, I want to tell you about my mom's mom and dad. And about a simple gift they gave me that means the world to me.
Washing dishes, I glance at the set of dinnerware we eat from every day. Nothing special. No Lenox, Spode, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton or Villeroy and Boch in this house. Not that it wouldn't be nice to have fine china. But the inexpensive Corningware dishes we eat from every day are far more valuable to me because they were given to me as a wedding present by my now deceased maternal grandfather and grandmother. My grandfather and grandmother lived in India and I did not grow up around them in the sense of those children who visit their grandparents regularly. I got to see them on special vacations taken to India or when they would come to the United States to visit. My grandparents came for summer vacations once in a while. My grandfather was a voracious reader, an author, a devoted diarist, letter writer, crossword puzzle enthusiast, and a very learned man. My grandmother loved to sew, crochet, embroider and knit, making beautiful lace doilies, bedspreads, tablecloths, wall hangings and giving them away freely to anyone who chanced to admire them. They would ocasionally bicker with each other, albeit affectionately, referring to themselves as "the old man" and "the old woman". Money they had not in great quantity but love they had and showered upon me and my sisters in seemingly endless supply. Both loved to play Scrabble and would engage the family in an evening of fun, everyone laughing and joking at silly words that we'd build while my grandfather, sternly and disapprovingly would remind us of the necessity for seriousness and decorum in the game. He always maintained a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary, a thick, weighty book with a tattered brown cover. He enlightened us on words beginning with the letter q without the necessity of the letter u after it, such as qaid. He was a champion at placing seven letter words and a keen strategist. We spent many an evening gathered around the dining room table playing Scrabble, Boggle and Indian Rummy. My grandfather, highly dignified would voice disapproval at our antics and raucous laughter during the game, but I sensed he found us amusing in spite of that.
My grandparents regaled us with stories of my mother's childhood and stories of our own brief stays with them and childhood in India. In addition to being a wonderful crafter, my grandmother also wrote stories, having been taught English by my grandfather and was an avid reader and learned as well. She had a sense of humor that was the perfect offset to my grandfather's serious demeanor (though he always had a twinkle in his eye!) They loved us very, very much and seemed to do all they could to make up for the fact that they saw us so very little. We were three of several grandchildren, (12 in all) and though they saw us the least, they loved us as much as the others.
My grandfather also loved to enter contests and sweepstakes, filling out the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes mailings with diligence, in hopes that he could win a large amount and make life easier for his loved ones. So when, shortly before my wedding, my grandparents, short on money but long on love, presented to me as a wedding present, a set of corningware dishes that my grandfather had won as a secondary prize in one of his many sweepstakes entries, I was moved to tears. I recall how they apologized for not having very much to give me and I was embarrassed that they would think I'd take offense to that!
Little did I know at that time that they would pass away, within three weeks of one another, seven years later. My grandmother died peacefully and painlessly and my grandfather followed her three weeks later. They loved each other so much that I can't imagine he wanted to go on much longer without her. He remained on long enough for my mother to travel to India and see him one last time.
It was over eleven years ago that they gave me that gift, and as I wash those dishes lovingly today, I take no notice of the chipped edges. Those plates are more precious to me than dishes of gold and silver because the amount of love they hold is immeasurable and priceless. I love you and miss you, Thatha and Monammai.
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