Her favorite phrase: Come give grandmama some suga!
Bertha Ethel Greer: Her kisses were like a butterflies wings, she was the epitome of a Southern woman; green bean casserole with 2 sticks of butter, grits for breakfast, cranberry sauce from the can, and always served super-sweet Southern style ice tea.
On those hot & humid summer days, she and my Auntie treated us to boxes of popsicles, the old school ones that you let hang from your mouth until our tongues turned colors. She once told me that a woman never sweats, she 'glows.' Grandma always gave big hugs and fish kisses. She showered us with 'sugar' even as we grew taller and eventually peeked over her forehead in our teens. She enjoyed telling us stories of yesterday and years past. Although my family moved around a lot somehow when we arrived at her house in Columbia, SC, there was a familiar scent of home. We knew grandma's perfume and her sweet powder scent awaited us. My dad is more like her than he admits. They're both avid readers, love the Sunday paper, control the TV, are big talkers. Similarly they both enjoy telling a good (long) story with multiple intertwining dimensions. In fact, my Grandma had the scoop on every building, family, local event, historical significance and always knew who is sleeping with whom, which she told us when we were old enough to understand. Ethel could literally talk her way out of anything (my dad hasn't mastered that skil). She was caught speeding one day (imagine that) and driving with expired tags or something. She sweet-talked the patrol officer so long that they both came to the conclusion that she and his mother attended school together and he let her drive away without penalty. A true Southern woman, sweet and well-read, she could also cook up a storm. Today I just want to remember you, in all of your sweetness, we miss you terribly, there's no one with that same warm heart and tough love. We love you and miss you so much~
2 comments:
My most favorite memory with mom was sitting at the kitchen table with fork in hand and eatting fried okra right out of the skillet! I had never eatten anything so tasty in my entire life! Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!
Mom also had a saying that southern ladies never sweated or prespired, "we glisten". She loved cross word puzzles and always took time out to listen to the newest information about our girl's boyfriend or lastest gossip in school.
Ethel Bertha Greer, you will always be in the hearts of your children, we love you mom! dmg
i remember mom and her "little " brothers calling her Bert,,, every time we had visitors she pulled the photo out of the Columbia Motel and had to show it off- uber proud of that- her cooking and saying "didn't think i could do it did ya"- calling all the grandkids her "youguns" - getting on mine and Jim's case when we didn't do something she had asked-going out to eat and her making up stories about the people sitting around us-having "girl" chats when i came home from dates-watching her do cross stitch-sitting on the carport and watching the neighbors-going on trips and getting lost( her use a map NEVER)--
giving you kids treats like freezer pops and watching it drip on your faces!
so much i miss but there are so many memories i can't pick one. she was my mom and my best friend and i thank you from the bottom of my heart for the tribute
love ya kiddo
xoxox
aunite s also know as Sandy Greer
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