Way Back Wednesday - Gone, but not forgotten

After reading Soogie's blog today and then finding out the theme for WBW this week, I decided to participate - don't worry, I probably won't do these often, I'm trying to forget my teenage years *laugh*...

This week's theme: Gone but not forgotten...a more serious tone this week as we share our pictures of ourselves with loved ones we've lost (either through death or lost touch with over the years)... -- if The Kept Woman does a sad one again, I will kick her behind, too many tears today.

So, I give you my grandparents, my mom's parents, I don't have a picture of me with them, but here they are together...
This is my MaMa and PaPa (both with short A sounds - I'm from South Carolina, ya know!)... My mom was a late child so they were both older when I was growing up. They never really had a lot of money or a lot of things, but both of them were the most amazing people to me.
MaMa was never without a hug for her grandchildren (and she had a LOT of grandkids - she had 7 children herself and her children had an average of 3 or 4 kids each). You didn't visit MaMa without her feeding you, if you were hungry, you ate. If you weren't hungry, you ate anyway - usually grits *laugh*. Going to her house was some of the most fun memories I have growing up of hearing them laugh together (and at us kids) and running around their house, daring each other to climb the fire tower...

PaPa was a riot. I remember all the things he used to do to us kids. The man had a streak of the devil in him (in a good way!). My fondest memory of him is when someone gave him one of those electronic keyboards and I was teasing my sister, Ginger, about having a crush on this little boy in her school, Brian. He made up a song, much to Ginger's horror, that went something like "Doctor, Doctor, Can you tell, What will make Brian well, If you don't, He might die, And that would make Gingerbread cry." He was always doing things to make us laugh and he always had a hug and kiss for you too.

It never mattered that they didn't have a whole lot, I think that's what made them the people they were. They had been through a lot together and it showed in everything they did for each other and the people around them.

It pains me to think that my children will never meet my MaMa and PaPa, that probably sounds silly, but I sometimes wish my children could have just a glimpse of the good things in my childhood - MaMa and PaPa were a large part of that. Every now and then, Jamie will give me his devilish grin and I swear that I see PaPa all over again, singing that song to Ginger.

PaPa passed away in 1990 or so and MaMa passed away in 1996 or so. PaPa died from prostate cancer and MaMa had Alzhimer's. (I'm not absolutely sure on the dates, hopefully my mom will stop by and correct me). Jamie shares his middle name with my PaPa, Howell.

I love you and miss you, PaPa and MaMa and still think of you often.

Edited: Just talked to my mom... PaPa died in 1989 and MaMa died in 1997. They were married Feb 15, 1944.