October 19, 2009

Betsy Howard shares memories this evening.  Betsy was married to Russ, Emily and Gene's oldest child, and is the mother of Elizabeth and Gregory.

----------------
Two Weeks


When Elizabeth was very young and learning to talk, she spent a week at MaMa and PaPa's house.  Russ and I went to pick her up at the end of the week, and we were greeted by our little girl shouting, "Two Weeks"!  PaPa had decided that one week was just not long enough with his first grandchild so he had her campaign for a longer vvisit the next time!


The visits to MaMa and PaPa's were always a delight for the children.  What started with Elizabeth continued on as more grandchildren were added to the family; Lauren, Greg, then Sarah, and in later years, Shelley, Daniel, Meredith, Patrick, Liga, and Valdis.  That drive to Kentucky - 5 1/2 hours from Atlanta, was filled with anticpation - they could hardly wait!  And once at MaMa and PaPa's house, they had such fun.  The sleeping bags were rolled out in the living room where Papa would entertain with before bedtime with stories - mostly ones he made up.  Any favorite food was sure to be on the menu, complete with cooking lessons if you wanted to help.  The kitchen table was usually a hub for whatever art project MaMa thought up for the kids - at Thanksgiving, this usually involved construction paper, glue, markers, and whatever it took to make place cards for the dinner table.  The garden in the backyard of the Middlesboro house was an adventure in itself as PaPa, with his endless patience, used this as a classroom to help his grandchildren understand where  food really came from - not the grocery store down the street!

I feel so blessed to have been part of the special family and to have known Gene Howard for almost 40 years.  The memories are truly priceless!

-------
Thanks Betsy for the memories!