Tag Archives: self-denial

Wiener Schnitzel, Author Holger.Ellgaard (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)

“Her children rise up and call her blessed…” (Prov. 31: 28).

My mother worked in the delicatessen she and my father owned.  Her  mother, my grandmother worked — less frequently than my mother — cleaning houses, downtown.

It was my mother who had convinced my father to purchase their small delicatessen in Harlem.  She thrived in the store, making countless friends over the years, despite her shyness and difficulties with language.  At the holidays, Ma lovingly placed hundreds of greeting cards into customer packages.

Grandma would tell us about her day and the swank Manhattan apartments she saw.  Mrs. Garland often said, “No one irons like you.”

Sometimes Grandma would share her concerns for her employers with us.  “Mrs. Garland has a girl older than you.  That one spends too much time alone.  I am going to ask if she can come and play with you.”  Little did we children realize who the famous Judy Garland was or her daughter, Liza.

The Kahls, another couple for whom Grandma cleaned, painted as a hobby.  A painting by the Kahls of the village where my mother spent her early life hung in a place of honor in our dining room, throughout my childhood.

Unlike Ma — always sweet, but ephemeral as smoke — Grandma was pragmatic and down to earth.  Where my mother was emotional, my grandmother was stoic.  Where Ma was silk, Grandma was steel.  Where my mother was yielding, my grandmother was highly organizational.

Lip Balm and Barrettes

Though Grandma was the more practical, Ma made sure to stock every variety of household item for us.

These were kept on hand in the garage:  lip balm, barrettes, contact paper, cold cream, glue, batteries, first aid ointment, hairspray, soap, scissors, cellophane tape, toothbrushes, hair brushes, baby powder, adhesive bandages, rubber bands, oak tag, markers, combs, headbands, suntan lotion, construction paper, crayons, stencils, sparkles, paper clips.  Like a genie, Ma would produce the necessary item at the critical moment.

Stationery, pens, and pencils were kept (along with socks) in a small cherry wood desk, in the living room. Continue reading →