One Life to Live

One of my earliest memories as a child is hanging off  the foot of my bed and watching Dark Shadows when I was supposed to be napping.  My mother watched her "stories" every day.  My grandmother watched the same "stories," and since they lived across the street from us, she would come over with a tall glass of sweet tea and spend two and a half hours with her daughter.  They watched All My Children, One Life to Live, General Hospital, and then Dark Shadows.  They would sit, watch, and then during the commercials they would talk about raising kids, the difficulty of marriage, and what the future might bring.  

My mom and grandmother did not agree on a lot of topics, but they did love each other.  My grandmother would watch us for my mom when she was forced back to work when my parents struggled and could barely make the mortgage.  My grandmother was a seamstress and she made sure that her three granddaughters never lacked for cloths.  She cooked and we consumed more meals around her table.  You see, my mom worked nights and would sleep from about 4:00 in the afternoon until about 10:00.  My grandmother would escort us across the street to her house where we would play, watch TV, and once we entered school, would complete homework with her assistance.  My dad would join us about 5:00.  Those three people were a well oiled machine when it came to us three girls.  

When my grandmother became too elderly to take care of herself, my mom moved her into our house.  My sister and I shared a room.  Karen who was young shared a room with my grandmother.  My grandmother lived with my parents until my father passed away.  I remember good times and bad with two grown women living in the same house.  My grandmother had her way of doing things and my mom had hers.  My dad was the balance between the two, but the one thing that never changed was the love they shared. They had three things in common and that bond was a strong one.

I was the one that sat with my grandmother four days after my father died and told my grandmother that she could no longer live with my mom.  My mom just couldn’t do it.  My mother knew that my grandma could not be at home alone during the day.  Since my dad was retired, he had been the one to keep track of my grandmother during the day after we kids had married and moved into our own homes.  We moved my grandmother to a nursing home.  My mother visited her weekly, took care of all her needs, and did all of this in the process of grieving the loss of her husband.  When my grandmother passed away, I sat with my mother on a stone wall outside the hospital and comforted her.  

This brings me back to the beginning of this story.  The reason I remembered hanging off my bed watching Dark Shadows at the age of five was being caught.  My mom could have just tucked me back in and told me to get to sleep, but instead she invited me to join them.  The deal was that I got to watch the first three, but Dark Shadows was off limits.  I do believe that my mother had discovered two things. The first was that I was to old for a nap and the second was the reason that I would creep in and sleep in my parents floor at night.

 While watching the news this week at the ripe old age of forty-nine, I learned of the final episode of One Life to Live.  The women that shaped my life, taught my sisters and I to be the women that we are had one life to live.  They did so as partners.  A mother and daughter team that worked together.  I seriously had two of the best teachers in the entire world.  My love and respect for these two women is never ending. I know my sisters would agree.  They had one life to live and they lived it for us and each other.  Because of them, my stories will never end.  I have a full childhood that I can recount, memories of my own marriage, children, and now the stories of my grandchildren.  I am crazy blessed. 

Lora