Amy's Grandparents

It feels good to think about them all again. I miss them so much and there are so many things that remind me of them.

I don't really remember much about Grandma Breckenridge. She was sick a lot and, like everyone else, I remember her on the couch a lot. I just went looking for vitamin C last week and do you know how hard those big cherry ones are to find? But I found them and we all eat one every day. I remember sleeping in the basement in the room that had the dress-ups under the stairs. We played LIFE a lot at her house and we never used the creepy bathroom in the basement with the spiders in the shower. I remember being there Saturday nights and getting the dippity doo in our hair with the curlers. And I remember her friend Sister Lemon. She and Grandpa were friends with everyone. She had a really cool bathtub with a sprayer that attached to the tub faucet. I remember I really liked her bathroom. I remember eating rabbit and liking it. Is that wierd? I remember having Thanksgiving dinner in the basement at a long table. And I do remember being in Durango and having to drink carrot juice! I was in my bedroom after school when I got the call from Dad that she had died. I think I was 13 and it was the first person in my family that I remember dying. I think Mom even gave me some Valium at her funeral cause I couldn't stop crying (I know what you're thinking. Amy? crying?).

Grandpa Breckenridge was my favorite grandparent, I think. He loved to "hang" with the kids and he let us be kids. I loved to sleep out in the camper when we slept over there. I remember him sitting in his big brown shiny recliner and I remember his whiskers (ouch!). He was a little goofy but he had a big heart and not a prejudiced bone in his body. He was the one who made Payne really feel welcome in the family and I loved him for it. He took Jeny and me camping and I will never forget that trip. He used to let me "drive" on the highway by letting me steer. And he was always happy, even when he was crying. That's a big part of why I felt so close to him, cause he cried a lot, too. I don't remember how I heard about his death but I think it was pretty soon after we moved to Maryland so I couldn't go to the funeral.

Grandpa Lauritzen was a great grandpa. I used to love to hear him sing. He told me once I was a good kisser (I just realized how wierd that sounds) when I kissed him goodnight. I also remember the green velvet piano bench with the towel where he would play solitaire. He must be the reason we like to play cards so much. Alex and I play Casino together all the time. I don't remember ever hearing him play his sax. I loved to be there when they irrigated. It was usually late at night and we would get in our swimsuits and play in the water. I went with him once to watch him play racquetball. I remember him sitting at the table eating cereal with cream on it. If he wasn't playing cards he was doing something in the yard. And most of all I remember going with him to the Pop Shoppe and picking cream soda. I also remember going to see him as a detective in a play. Something about the clock striking 13 and someone getting shot. Is that right? I remember the day he died. It was early in the morning and the phone rang. I went upstairs to see what was going on and Dad gave me a big hug and told me and started to cry. And I remember Grandma crying a lot and that was strange to me. She was too strong and tough to cry and she held it together most of the time. But now and then she would just lose it. She is the grandparent I got the most from. My stature, my hair, my weight, my, um, (sorry dad) huge bosoms. I remember being in her bathroom and seeing her bra hanging on the back of the door and thinking "wow, that could fit on my head!". And I remember hearing the train from HER house. Everytime I hear a distant train whistle I think of waking up in Robert's bedroom under the pink quilt with the window open and hearing the train. I love that memory. The Jewelry is also a fun one. Jeny and I played with it everytime we were there. And we spent a lot of time oiling the leaves of that huge tree. She was definitely never afraid to say what was on her mind and she could be hurtful sometimes. But she loved us and we knew it. I was so glad that we were all able to get together to send her off. Somehow it seemed fitting for her to be the last one to go.