Mews from Meowmix

I’m battling with yet another very sore throat and all the other attendant maladies, so I went to bed last night instead of blogging! I think I need to move to Arizona!

Today, I want to tell you about some people who have always been a big part of me, although I didn’t have a lot of face time with any of them. In fact, two of them died before I was born, or was even a thought! The stories passed down to me about them, however, gave me a lot of insight into life, love, and responsibility.

My maternal grandmother, Laura Victoria Byrd Collins. My grandfather, John Elie Collins. My other grandfather/great-uncle, Willie Collins. These, in my estimation, were extraordinary people.

My mom’s family grew up at Pottersville, Missouri, just outside of West Plains. She was one of 7–6 girls and 1 boy. My mom told many stories about her growing-up years about both her parents that made me appreciate the people they were, as well as hope I could be somewhat like them in a lot of ways.

My grandfather, John Elie or “Papa,” made moonshine whiskey in those Missouri hills. Now, I didn’t ever want to do that, but it kind of intrigued me that my grandfather did it! He used to take the whole family to community square dances, and Mom would regale me with stories about those dances. Grandpa allowed his girls to dance with boys as long as their hands only touched their waist! An arm around the full waist would get you sidelined! He was very protective of his family; however, when my mom was 11 years old, this came to an end. Her dad died at a young age from cancer. Before he died, he made their mom promise she would never take the kids to another square dance because he would not be there to look after them. And she didn’t.

So my grandmother was left a widow, at a young age, with 7 kids, one or two of which were barely more than babies.

Enter Willie Collilns, John’s brother and the kids’ uncle. I don’t know anything about how it all took place, or a love story. I only know what happened. Willie and Laura got married, and he finished raising his brother’s family as if they were his own. Obviously, I never knew grandfather John except through the stories my mom told about him. I did, however, know my Grandpa Collins……….a white-haired man I loved very much. He and Laura never had any kids, but my mom and her siblings called him “Dad,” and they loved him as a dad.

It’s really a very simple story. Probably not an unusual one for that day and time. But it has always intrigued me and made me thankful to come from a lineage of people who lived their lives, paying attention to not only duty and responsibility but also love.

I believe the love my grandfather John had for his family was evident in his fierce protection of them. I believe my Grandpa Willie loved his brother and his brother’s family an awful lot to be willing to marry the widow and raise the kids, never having any of his own. And I know from remembering how my mom’s voice would soften when she talked about her mother that my grandmother was a special, lovely, and sweet woman. Til the day she died, my mother never stopped missing HER mother. She would talk about what a good “mommy” she was blessed with.

Love, providence for family, duty, and responsibility. These were all passed down to me, set in motion long before I was born, by three people…………….two of whom I never met. But I’m looking forward to giving them hugs one day.

YESTERDAY’S SMILES (I’m behind):

1. A comfortable home in which to have the crud again!
2. Being awakened at 6pm to be told I need to get up and eat and then I can go back to bed. In other words, being taken care of!
3. Hearing the laundry being done…………….and going back to sleep.
4. Connecting with more distant relatives on Facebook.
5. A picture of my sister Betty posted in her granddaughter’s wedding album on Facebook.

Have a great day! Love to all.