Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for April 25, 2015

I think the grandmother is Mrs. Otterloop’s mother. Then again, maybe Mr. Otterloop’s mother. Better yet, the stepmother of either parent. My future children are going to have two paternal grandmothers (my late biological mother and then my stepmother who’ll they’ll know most often).

I had four grandmothers. Both grandads divorced and remarried.

I had one grandmother, but she was married three times. Paternal grandparents were gone before I arrived

Who cares?

My paternal grandfather remarried before I was born, a woman who accepted me as her own (and gets credit for being Grandpa’s main strength in battling alcoholism, while his first wife gets credit for what she did for her kids before he got help, and he does for winning the battle for 2 decades). So I had 3 grandmothers and 2 grandfathers from the start. For a decade beginning in my early 20s I had a 3rd grandfather, a man who my maternal grandmother married after losing her husband of almost 50 years. She had cared for a disabled man for 2 decades, and he was strong during his battle He was devoted to her, accepting of her family, and a veteran who couldn’t talk about his service to anyone but his late wife and Grandma. His sons never even saw his medals. Knowing Dad served in the Air Force and he having seen me accept my history degree (on Mother’s Day, and watching us honor his wife and her 2 daughters, and seeing the 2 men she accepted as her own before they married her daughters had him in tears) he put the box of medals on his table in front of us and walked away without a word. Seeing the names of the battles he was in brought me to tears. In short, I am honored to be connected to each of my 6 grandparents

If the kids don’t know (are you hearing me, Petey?), they should ask while they have the chance. There is far too much about my ancestry that remains obscure because I didn’t ask while there was still someone who could answer….

Pianos are for magazines; exercise equipment is for clothes.

I’m my own grandpa.

My paternal grandma brought me up. My mum wasn’t exactly what you’d call a good parent.

My dad’s mom died of TB in 1898, before he was two years old. He wanted to name me “Minerva America” after her, but Mom staved that off, allowing “Minerva” as a middle name.My grandpa remarried, and his wife had three sons. The youngest, Uncle Billy, was sweet and handsome, and he gave me away during my marriage ceremony, my father having died. (We did that, back in the day.) .

It is important to know your roots. Kids who know their roots feel more secure than those who don’t.

I’m guessing that Grandma’s piano is guarded by Big Shirley, perhaps even hidden behind her. Hence Alice’s unfamiliarity.

In my case, both of my grandmothers were addressed as "Grandmother.’ Now, when my stepson and his wife had their first child, my wife called dibs on “Grandma,” because she had no intention of being known as “Mom-Mom.” So I just fell into the “Grandpa” role.