Marjorie's Grandaughter

The inspiration for the title of this blog came from the song Rosemary's Grandaughter, by Sara Evans. How ironic the artist is named Sara, I had no clue! Anyway, from the very first time I heard this song, I felt so liberated. There is no denying that I am not your typical 33 year old girl. I'm not trendy, nor am I worried about fulfilling some expected social roles (stay-at-home mom, soccer mom, trendy/fit mom).... I am just me. I love old stuff and most of my friends in this town could be my mother ~ if age really counted. (Good thing it doesn't!) When I heard this song, I just wanted to cry because I truly am my grandmother's grandaughter, and this song reminded me that I shouldn't be anything else!

If you're not familiar with the lyrics, here they are:

i am rosemary's grandaughter, spinning image of my father, and when the day is done my momma's still my biggest fan. sometimes I am foolish and I am clumsy, but I have friends that love me, and they know just where i stand. it is all apart of me and that is who i am.

So let me tell you a little big about Marjorie. My grandma Steinberger was a mere 4'11" and was always on a diet, though she wore a skinny size 10. Her hobbies were housekeeping and shopping. On any given Saturday or Sunday, you could find my grandpa sitting in the middle of Westroads tending her bags while he worked a crossword puzzle. She was very prim and proper. She owned closets full of clothes and wore stiletto heels. She organized her closets by types of clothing, and then by color. She did not own a pair of jeans, and while we often saw her in her pj's at night, we never saw her bed unmade. She rose with the sun to clean her floors and prepare for the day. She was stern and made us behave; however, we never really figured that out until we were older. She would make us dance with her in the living room to Lawrence Welk, because Grandpa wouldn't. This was before we would head off to Sat. evening mass and then out to dinner for prime rib. She taught us how to behave in a restaurant, and rewarded us with her pride when we complied. She played canasta with a group of ladies, and would come over every Wed. night to sit with us in case my dad would get called in to the hospital while my mom taught Lamaze. She taught us that you only talk during the commercials when Dallas, Dynasty, and Falcon Crest are on. She also let us hang up our Grandpa's socks from a nylon clothes line in the living room, and we never visited without making instant pudding (which was not eaten a minute before the 5 minutes were up). My grandma was a fighter, spunky, small but mighty. She has been gone for almost 15 years due to breast cancer. It breaks my heart that she is not here to see my babies, because she would have loved them so much! In July of 1994, an old woman sat with my grandpa and I at the funeral dinner and said to me, " You will be the next Marjorie." There is nothing I would rather be!