Monday, November 21, 2016

Gigi

Thirty Days of Thankfulness, Day 21

Her name was Esther.  She was born in 1904, the youngest of ten children.  She married Albert Homsher and had two children: Janet and Donald.  In the 1940's, they bought a piece of land on a lake in Northern Michigan, and built a lovely log home there, which they named "JanDon Lodge" after their children.  Shortly after completion, though, Albert passed away.  Some time later, Esther was re-married to Arthur DeYonker.  This man, whom I knew only for the first two years of my life, was known as Papa.  My only memory of him is visiting him in the hospital before he passed away.  Esther, though, I had the privilege of knowing very well.  We called her Gigi.



She lived in a big old house in the cultural district of Flint.  I have many early memories of her in that house.  I always thought it was funny that her master bedroom held two twin-sized beds instead of one larger bed. I remember her little bathroom, filled with original tile, and the time I had a sore throat and she made me gargle with the old original flavor of Listerine.  I nearly DIED, I tell ya.  I remember the rec room in the basement, filled with fancy wicker furniture, and the cold back room with the stationary bicycle and a little desk I had used to pretend to write in cursive handwriting while playing school.  I remember going for rides in her loooooooong blue-green car and I always wondered how it ever fit in her tiny little garage.

Of course, she was 72 when I was born, so most of my memories of her occurred when she was in her 80's.  When she left her house in Flint, she moved into my Nanu's house.  Sometimes, she'd come to spend a day or two at our house.  When we ate dinner, she would always let me sneak the things I didn't like onto her plate, which I thought was just about the best thing ever.  And if her mood was just right, we could get her talking about her past. She told so many stories of her brothers and sisters.  Her sister, Julia, died as a child and her brother, Charlie, was run over and killed by a boat while swimming in the Detroit River. It seemed like every time she'd re-tell these stories they'd change just a little bit, slowly becoming more elaborate as the years passed. I never tired of hearing them, though.  She experienced many heartaches in her life and yet she was always cheerful and upbeat.

My favorite memories of my Gigi are from the cabin.  She always drank her coffee from the same little cup and when she sat at the table, she'd have me get a pillow from the couch to sit on.  After breakfast was cleaned up, we'd play cards-just the two of us.  It's strange that there were five of us grandkids up there all the time but I was the only one who played cards with her every day.  We'd play Gin Rummy and she was the best.  She'd always tell me to "chest my cards" and if she got down on her luck she'd say, "Seven come eleven, my baby needs shoes and he won't get 'em if I lose.  Come you seven!"  I never had any idea what that meant but she said it without fail every time we played.  Usually, we'd take a break for lunch and at the cabin, happy hour is usually two or three hours, not just one.  She'd have Jim Beam and Diet Vernors and when she'd finish her drink, she'd shake the ice in the glass and proclaim, "A bird can't fly on one wing!"  That was my cue to make her one more.  Just one more.  And then my friends would show up to swim and we'd set the cards aside for the next day.  At night, when I'd come in from a chilly bonfire, she'd make me stick my hands in her armpits to warm them, which I thought was totally disgusting but totally worked, and if anyone was caught with a hole in their sock, she'd make you take it off so she could darn it right away.  That JanDon Lodge is still a big part of our family and I know we all feel her presence when we are there.



Although she is no longer with us, Gigi is remembered.  Our entire family talks about her often and my kids know her through photographs.  When I think of her now, I think of her big, fluffy white hair, her tiny little elastic silver wristwatch on her arm, and her warm smile and laugh.  I am thankful that I was able to spend so much time with her when I was younger and will always cherish her memory.



1 comment:

  1. Very nice..I too have many memories and loads of pictures. Cousin Stephi

    ReplyDelete

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