grandmother

meet my grandmother

maybe i love watching downton abbey as much as i do because it feels like watching my life, or, at least, my grandmother.  just look at them, violet and effie dean, empresses of their own domains:

one and the same.  two peas in a pod.  they would be best friends if the laws of physics and reality would permit.  oh, the tea-parties that would be had, the jewelry that would be sported, the side-comments that would be made.  my grandmother is living proof that the british aristocracy is not dead.  not even in america.  court is still held, lavish dinner parties still thrown, capes still worn, and right here on normandie circle.

this regal woman

has had a profound influence on my life.  before you meet her you should know that she insists on being called grandmother.  nothing else will do.  believe me.  i have tried using other names and on one such occasion, she informed me that i had one last chance before i was dead to her.  i did get away with calling her "ganagome" when i was little, but that was only because i was so darling.  however, her hearing isn't what it once was...

like lady violet, grandmother is a strong woman with a strong personality, a strong will, and a knack for surviving.  ever since my granddad died 16 years ago, she has presided over our family.  but i am willing to bet that even when granddad was alive grandmother still manned the helm.  that's just who she is.  that's just what she does.  she has taught me much of the power that determined, tough, spirited women have.  she often tells me that i am capable of anything and she believes it enough to make it true.  

i used to think that my grandmother was like a female dumbledore.  now i know that she is really violet, dowager countess of grantham.  

some parting words of wisdom: