As cool and intriguing as grandpa sounds, it's my grandmother who totally fascinates me. I'm not sure why that is. Perhaps it's because more than one person has said that they see her in me. I'll be lucky if I ever become even half of what she apparently was.
Sure, my grandma was a doctor, but the way dad talks about her, she might as well have been superwoman. Mention her name to dad and there's a catch in his voice.
My grandma may have had "Dr." in front of her name, but she was much, much more than that. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall of her parties. She sounds like she must have been a blast to be around. Guitar playing? 'Woo-ing' guests? Heady discussions about books and music and art?
My dad admitted to me once that he fell for my mother because she reminded him of his mother. You've got to understand, him saying that is like him saying he's going to the moon. Really. It's that earth-shattering.
My first attempt to see her ghost at the cemetery was an abysmal failure, and I want to try one more time before my YA birthday. After my birthday, though, I'm not bound by that stupid 11 pm curfew, I could stay as long as I want. One thing about ghosts and things, cemeteries and dark places don't really frighten me like they do most folks. On the contrary, I'm actually fascinated by them. Maybe it's because of the story Aunt Margaret likes to tell, that when mom was pregnant with me, she spent a lot of time in the cemetery late at night fishing for deathfish so that she could prepare her secret life-extending recipe for her. Something you should know about mom, she's a world class cook.
The reason I wrote this blog entry is because I recently came across her journal in a bunch of dad's things. I've been carrying it around with me, and not even my dad knows I have it. She says some interesting things; most notably, that my grandpa wanted to marry her but she had "serious misgivings" about the idea. My grandpa was very much a traditionalist and my grandma was anything but. My grandma was a woman well before her time, methinks. Dad got a lot of his 'free spirit' from her.
I've been thinking lately, what would my grandchildren think about me? What would my granddaughter's reaction be if she found this blog the way I have my grandmother's journal? I'd have to create some kind of legacy for them to follow. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with my life; however, I do think there'll be some painting and writing and music involved, because I'm a Plumb and that's what we do.
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