Little Story #14

When I was a kid my grandmother's gave me the quiz.
What religion are we? That was easy. We were Methodist.
What political party are we? That was harder. I had to remember which grandmother was which. If it was my maternal grandmother we were Republican. If it was my paternal grandmother we were Democrat. I learned early that when it comes to politics you tell people what they want to hear.
Both families had two girls and a boy. In both families my grandmother played the daughters against each other. They told each daughter how much help the other was. I suppose the idea was to spur more help but all it did was cause hurt and resentment. In both families the boys did no wrong.
Cough.
My parents were the babies in both families. When they were married the consensus was that they were too young. I think that was as much about their maturity as it was about their age. I guess it may have been true since they were only married for a few years. In the early fifties being divorced was not as common as it it now. People would tell me I wasn't having a childhood. Clearly I was having a childhood. Just not one with a father present.
My maternal grandmother, Vera, was always on the run. DAR, Eastern Star, WCTU, bridge club. She had emphysema despite the fact that she neither smoked nor allowed smoking in her home. She did live in western Pennsylvania, which at that time had terrible air quality.
My Paternal grandmother, Felice, had glaucoma, diabetes, cataracts. She'd had a stroke. She didn't like to leave her house. She mostly watched soap operas. Her husband had died young. I'm not sure how. Her daughter lived with her.
And,  of course, my mother and I lived with Vera and my Poppop, Jack.
I lived with Vera and Jack until I was 12 (I think) (maybe 13). I visited Felice every summer for a month or more. I loved them all.
Recently I've been remembering Felice bringing my lunch into the living room on a tray. I'm not sure I helped her. I feel like I might not have. I'm just not sure. She was so frail. I hope I did.
I spent a lot of time alone in my childhood. I read books and day dreamed and made little stories with my dolls. Partly because I was raised by older women.
Family structures like mine were not on TV. Really, in those days, not many family structures were represented. We lived in a world of overly simple ideas of normal.