Grandma’s Rocking Chair
Photo of the day #34
January 23, 2020, 2:40 PM
Random photo from my collection.
This is the memory I have of Elisabeth as a baby. She has two little bottom teeth coming in and a cute baby smile. We were visiting my Grandma in Emmaus. My grandma lived in the same house for over 50 years. This was just a little over a year before she moved into a retirement home.
February 11, 2021, was a snowy day, and Grandma had her COVID shot scheduled, so I picked her up and took her for her shot. Then we went to Wert’s for lunch afterward. My grandparents were the ones who introduced me to Wert’s Cafe in Allentown, which is now my favorite restaurant. I still have the receipt in my wallet from that last Wert’s outing with Grandma.
The following evening, I got a phone call from Grandma. She said she fell in the bathroom and army-crawled her way to the living room to call me. Not knowing what to do, I called my Aunt Jenny and called Grandma’s neighbor Kathy, who had a key, to see if she could go over and check on Grandma. Aunt Jenny said to send her a photo of Grandma. Aunt Jenny showed Uncle Bill, who is a doctor, the photo, and he said it was most likely broken. I arrived at Grandma’s house before the ambulance came. Luckily, there was a little opening in the snow on the sidewalk curb for them to carry her out to the ambulance, but I still remember the sound from the living room of them outside chopping away at the snow to make it wider for the stretcher.
That was the last day Grandma ever spent in her house. The following weeks and months were focused on Grandma’s recovery and getting the house ready to sell. It was an emotional time for me and everyone, to say the least. I spent a few days there alone, packing and crying, photographing every corner of the house, and trying to soak it up as much as I could. I had been going over to Grandma’s house every week for the last several years. I started probably in 2014 or 2015, using “taking their trash out” as an excuse to come and spend time with them and help with anything that they needed to be done. Granddad passed away in 2016 and I still went religiously. I kept going over even after I was engaged and living in Hellertown. I kept going over even after I got pregnant and after I had Elisabeth. Once I quit my job, I could come over during the day for lunch rather than at night for dinner. Now that she lives in Media, PA, which is a little over an hour away, I try to go every other week with the girls because it takes a whole day, and it’s a day lost of work. But it doesn’t matter; I’ll go for as often as I can, for as long as I can.
I’m happy that my girls have gotten to know Grandma. I cherish the memories of going to Grandma’s house in Emmaus with just Elisabeth. They are sweet, happy memories like this one here: Elisabeth in Grandma’s Mammy’s rocking chair. Grandma always told the story of how Mammy used to balance the chair on the back of the runners and her amazement at how she was able to do it. Grandma’s belongings were either sold or donated, or they are now living in my house. This rocking chair would have been my great-great grandmother’s, “Mammy,” as Grandma called her. After Mammy, it became Grandma’s mom’s, “Grandma Heiney,” as I call her. Grandma Heiney had it repainted in black from its original brown. The stencil on the armrests is wearing off, but it still says “Heiney” under the chair seat, which I assume was written by whoever redid the paint and stencil. I never met Mammy or Grandma Heiney, but I love having the legacy of my family in my home. It makes it feel connected to them.
I was so worried about my Grandma moving into a retirement home. Her memory has been steadily degrading even since before her fall. But she is happy, and otherwise, her health is thriving. So we’ll continue to cherish the time we have.