CHILDHOOD MEMORIES......WHERE ARE THEY?

i mentioned in an earlier entry that i don't remember much about my childhood.  (entry:  UNCERTAINTY).  i am sure i had dreams of the future like most children do.........and i am sure i had alot of happy times as well as bad times.  occasionally something said or seen will trigger a memory, and i usually smile when i think about it.  that brings me to a memory i just had................

                               

i was 4 or 5 years old.  i lived in a white frame house in a southeastern portion of atlanta, called lakewood heights.  i lived with my mother and father, and behind our house was the cabin my mawmaw built herself, in which she lived.  mawmaw was what most today would call a "mountain woman".  she raised rabbits, chickens and an occasional duck in a penned area next to her cabin.  she didn't let alot of things upset her, but when she did get upset, watch out.........

behind my house was a concrete patio, which completely surrounded that side of the house.  the back yard was higher than the house, so there was a retaining wall, with steps going up to the yard.  the concrete was that really rough textured type.  i remember several things that happened on that patio. 

this particular day, mawmaw (who, by the way, was my maternal grandmother), was sitting in an original adirondak chair, and i was sitting on the concrete steps.  we were bouncing a small ball back and forth to each other.  now, you must first understand that my mawmaw was a tall, thin woman, with widening hips, and a sagging bossom.  i bounced the ball a little too hard, and mawmaw's arms flew up over her head to make sure she would catch the ball.  but the ball disappeared.  of course, from my vantage point on the steps, i saw where it went, but i couldn't stop laughing long enough to tell mawmaw.  she looked all over for the ball, then finally decided to get up out of the chair to look for it.  when she stood up, the ball fell out from under her right breast.  when she had thrown up her hands, her sagging breasts had flown up, and the ball went under one, then they came back down.......on the ball.  if i remember correctly, i almost wet my panties on that one................

another memory i have of mawmaw was around the same age, and happened in her cabin back behind our house.  i was visiting her one day around the time she fed her two dogs, spot and jackie.  (oh my, i remember the dogs' names......)  she opened a can of alpo dog food that smelled so very good, i asked mawmaw if i could taste it.  she handed me a fork, and said enjoy.  i vaguely remember that it tasted good.......but i wouldn't suggest it as a culinary delight. 

mawmaw was someone i would have loved to have stick around till i was older.........but she passed on when i was around 8 i think.  not even sure now what she died from.  i just know that life was different after her death.  my mother wasn't much like her....... even though i loved both of them equally.  mawmaw was seventh day adventist........and had lots of religious books that i still possess today. 

mawmaw, i miss you, even though i didn't spend alot of my life with you...........but you did leave a few lasting memories.  see you when i get to heaven...................