A Lifetime of Special People - Mary Athlyn

April and May must be the months of fertility because there are so many Birthdays in February!!  I have my Dad and my brother's b-day to go for this month.

WHO:

My Grandmother Mary Athlyn R. (my father's mother) was born on  a February 15.  She passed away many years ago when I was 8 or 9.  But thankfully I was old enough to remember her and the things she taught me.

It was my Grandmother that taught me to draw and do the crafty things I so often enjoy doing.  Any holiday - Easter, Valentines and etc.  She had us making all kind of crafts.  She could make anything and could make it well.   She made a ton of ceramic Christmas tree ornaments that I keep in a safe place and one year in the future I plan on putting up an extra tree for them.

Though I spent a lot of time with her I don't remember much about her personality.  Maybe because I was too young?  However, I do remember what her hugs felt like, the sound of her voice and her projects for me like picking up pecans or raking leaves to get me off the coach and outside.  I remember shucking corn and breaking peas from my Uncle Pud's garden, or I should say field that ran behind her land...stuff that seems mundane or monotonous but you somehow enjoy doing these things and remember it fondly because it made times feel simple and calm.

My Aunt Stella, the youngest of her siblings, sent me an e-mail telling me more about her personality because I only saw her from the point of view of a 9 year old granddaughter. 

Here is what some of the e-mail Aunt Stella sent me had in it:

She was loving and kind. I remember her as a very talented person who could paint, sew, bake, crochet and even make her own ceramic molds. Everything looked professional when she finished it. 

She was like a mother to me when I was little since I think Mama made her take care of me most of the time. She was so young when she married (just 15) and I was only 5 but I remember feeling as though I had lost my mother and I stayed with her as often as I could. When I became pregnant with Bill she sewed maternity clothes for me and gave me the most wonderful baby shower where she decorated the bassinet beautifully and baked little pink and blue cakes that looked like baby booties. Mama said Athlyn felt as though she was going to be a grandmother herself when I became pregnant. 

She was a fanatic about keeping a clean house and one day while I was dusting her many little whatnots, I asked her if I could have a small ceramic Victorian shoe she had. She must have said I could have it after she died because  I  taped a note to the bottom of the shoe that said "This belongs to me. Stella". When Jimmy was going through her things, he found the shoe, read the note and gave me the little shoe, which I cherish.

I remember the family gathering at her house (your house) and filling the dining room on holidays where she served the most wonderful food. I especially liked her cherry pies. Each Christmas she would make a rum soaked fruit cake which she began weeks before Christmas so it could soak and always a Lane cake which is a very southern recipe. I still make her beef stroganoff recipe which I used to make and mix with formula, blend and freeze in ice trays for my children when they were babies. They loved it then and still love it as I do.

When she became a grandmother, I think she was the most happy spending time with all of you. Shannon has loving memories of spending time with her when we would visit from Nashville and she would stay with her.

Athlyn and Travis (Grandmother and Granddaddy)

From Old Photos

Grandmother and Aunt Sherry

From Old Photos

Granddaddy and Grandmother on an Indian

From Old Photos

Athlyn and Curtis or Ralph? (one of her 3 brothers)

From Old Photos

If you asked different people who Dax looks like, you'll get a different answer almost every time.  It's always been the same with me.  My physical appearance is a complete hodgepodge of all my family members from both sides. Going through old photos to add to this post I was astonished at what I saw...  

I've been told I look like just about everyone in my family at one time or another ~ except ~ my brother and I've NEVER been told I looked like my Grandmother, Athlyn. Even though the picture of her below is blurry, and isn't the best picture of her...this is pretty close (not exactly) to the way I see myself - this is the face I see in the mirror everyday even if nobody else sees the resemblance.  Only my face has blue eyes and blonde hair.  This is crazy to me!

She is standing 2nd on the left

From Old Photos

I hated losing my Grandmother so early.  She was in her 50's when she passed away.  When I was younger, I felt robbed and to be honest, that feeling still comes over me every once in a while.  But that pity party passes when I realize how blessed I am to have actually had 2 wonderful Grandmothers on my Dad and Mom's side.  If that weren't enough, I could simply think about all the special people in my life I get to post about.  So I really don't have a right to complain.  I'm thankful for the time I had with her, the person she was, the things she taught me and how much she loved Brian, Brandy, Me and Misty (her grandchildren).  Though there's a lot I'm sure I've forgotten over the years, one thing I remember that's most important was how much I loved her.

Clint, Dax and I live in her house and I had to redo a lot of hard work to get the house back to the shape it was in when she was alive (15 years of renting doesn't do a house good). I'm actually not quite there yet.  But, this house is very sentimental to me.  It's small, but if I never lived anywhere else, I would be satisfied.  There's a peace I have living in the house where I have so many memories as a child.

In case you're wondering what "Aunt Stella" looks like - here is the most recent picture of her.   J/K, Aunt Stella.  Love U!  

From Old Photos