A Handful of Memories...

"As I awoke this morning I heard the patter of rain upon the roof. In fancy my thoughts revert back to my childhood and my old home in Louisiana, where as a child, I so often heard the old familiar sound of the rain upon my roof." ~Bess Carroll Brendel

So begins the historical novel my great grandmother wrote. Nonna B was a remarkable woman. I remember going to visit her in San Antonio, where she lived for much of her adult life. Nonna B lived alone in her house until her death. In many ways she reminds me of Ms. Angelle- independent and gutsy. Nonna B would have Sunday dinners for the family, just like my mother prepares Sunday dinners for our family. But Nonna B would prepare several decadent desserts, and her feelings would get hurt if you didn't have a taste of each one.

I loved exploring her house. From a child's eyes, it seemed spooky and mysterious. The back of her house she often rented out (again, like Ms.Angelle) and I remember thinking it was haunted. I was too scared to venture back there, so I usually stayed in the kitchen where all the adults gathered, or sat on the big porch in one of my favorite rocking chairs. Nonna B would always come out, set me on her lap and rock me as she told me stories about her childhood. These stories filled my mind and helped pass the time, just as Nonna B wrote at the end of her book:

"A handful of memories will brighten the gloom of the loneliest day. Anon."

"That's The Way It Was"

Do you have any fond childhood memories? Perhaps you took several fun vacations with your family, or remember holiday get togethers. One of my fondest childhood memories is the family reunions we would have every couple of summers. My family had roots spread all throughout Louisiana and Texas. We would pick a spot for our reunion and get together for some family fun. I think my great grandmother, Bess Carroll Brendel, started this tradition. I loved her dearly. She died when I was young ( I remember being devastated), but there are some things about her I will never forget. She loved to write and paint. She painted beautiful pictures in her studio, some of my mom and uncle that are hanging in my mother's house. Nonna B (as I called her) also wrote a book that was published and is in the Library of Congress. The book is called "That's The Way It Was" by Bess Carroll Brendel. In this book, she writes about her childhood on a plantation called 'Old Chesterfield' and I am even mentioned in it, as her sweet young baby great granddaughter. Perhaps I inherited her writing genes- she always did tell me I was very creative. Well, whatever it is that I inherited, I do know one thing. I am proud of my family heritage and I hope to write more about it in the upcoming future.