One day in Nana and Opa's big sedan with red velour seats, circa 1979, I sang a song for my grandparents. It was called As I Have Loved You, and it was my favorite Primary song. My older and wiser cousin, Ally, said I was singing it all wrong, which I'm sure was true. But Nana and Opa said it was wonderful. I can't ever listen to it without getting all choked up just thinking about my smiling grandparents and their gentle love.
Whenever we visit Nana, we ask her to play something for us on the piano. She has a little book of oldies her sister put together, and she likes to play those. The lyrics are the stuff of nightmares, though! One is about baby twins who wandered off into the forest, got lost, and died. It's a nice little song until the part where it says cheerfully, "The two little babes, they laid down to die!" My kids always look at me in alarm. Another one is about a boy who refused to say his prayers and was taken away by goblins. Even given the "Grimm" nature of these songs, Nana's melodious singing voice makes them sound pleasant.
A couple of days ago, Nana chose As I Have Loved You to play for us. I got all teary there in Nana's cozy living room, where I spent many Sunday nights as a child with my cousins, listening to the aunts and uncles brag about all of us. I got the sense that they all thought we children were just wonderful. They were proud of us.
During Nana's song, Ptolemy was vying for my attention. He basically ruined the song, but that's OK. Nana didn't mind a bit. Not a bit.
Whenever we visit Nana, we ask her to play something for us on the piano. She has a little book of oldies her sister put together, and she likes to play those. The lyrics are the stuff of nightmares, though! One is about baby twins who wandered off into the forest, got lost, and died. It's a nice little song until the part where it says cheerfully, "The two little babes, they laid down to die!" My kids always look at me in alarm. Another one is about a boy who refused to say his prayers and was taken away by goblins. Even given the "Grimm" nature of these songs, Nana's melodious singing voice makes them sound pleasant.
A couple of days ago, Nana chose As I Have Loved You to play for us. I got all teary there in Nana's cozy living room, where I spent many Sunday nights as a child with my cousins, listening to the aunts and uncles brag about all of us. I got the sense that they all thought we children were just wonderful. They were proud of us.
During Nana's song, Ptolemy was vying for my attention. He basically ruined the song, but that's OK. Nana didn't mind a bit. Not a bit.
5 comments:
Beautiful! I loved seeing snippets of her lovely home. You'll be so glad you have that on video.
Precious memories with your grandparents. I'm so glad you're taking the time to capture these (heh...even your kiddos horrified reactions to the words!) for the future.
Do you print you blog into books? Just curious. I have a few for Hannah and need to order more.
Grandmothers are the very best!
I hadn't watched the little video, I loved it! Who is the beautiful little girl in the painting?
I love this. I am so glad you got this on video.
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