She Did What??

Gramma Reaugh liked the boys (my brother and two cousins) better than the girls (my sister and me).  Especially my brother.  I remember crying one time, asking my mom why Gramma was like that.  I doubt if she had a good answer.

Gramma used to give my brother Coke in a baby bottle long after he was a baby.  My sister and I got Coke in cups.

Mom never let us have soda pop so I wonder now if Gramma did it just to annoy my mother.  That would make that stupid bottle even more wrong.

My cousins probably resented my brother.  They lived in the same small Iowa town that Gramma lived in.  She saw them all the time.  We always lived far away and dropped into their lives twice a year.  So, not only was my brother a boy, he wasn’t around enough to bore or annoy Gramma.

My brother and I talked recently about her favoritism.  He just grinned when he told me this:

Gramma let my brother pee in a can she kept in the kitchen so he didn’t have to go upstairs to the one bathroom!

Are you kidding me?

He was old enough to run up and down the stairs.

What did she do with the pee??

And how long did this last?  Did all the boys get to do this?

I am now a grandmother.  I remember how it felt to be neglected by Gramma.  And I saw one of my daughters favored by a grandmother.  With only one grandchild, it has been easy.  She is the unquestioned star!

Now both daughters are pregnant.  One is due in the next few weeks.  Adaline’s brother is due in early April.

Can we give attention to two more grandchildren without breaking Adaline’s heart?

I’m damn sure I will try.

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