tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061665328242748532.post2366657581232795482..comments2024-03-24T05:21:44.666-04:00Comments on PinkTaxiBlogger: Tea with TetaPinkTaxiBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105826333680155633noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061665328242748532.post-2513384009850510402010-08-13T01:50:31.422-04:002010-08-13T01:50:31.422-04:00Lucky are those who have vivid memories with their...Lucky are those who have vivid memories with their grandparents.As an older generation,few of us experienced that.I didn't know either of my grandfathers:they had passed before my birthdate.I barely have a memory of my maternal grandmother who was a stern thin image of my mother.<br />In the past grandmothers aged fast,may be because they mothered so many kids,or worked hard at housework!I remember both grandmothers as bed ridden,telling us stories bordering on fairy tales.<br />I was lucky to know my paternal grandmother,known as Umm Ali",the matriarch of a family of 9 boys and 3 girls that produced tens of children and hundreds of grandchildren.She lived in our ancestral family home in the heart of old Beirut.Her Venetian style house with internal arches was furnished with art nuveau furniture,with high ceilings.Her dining room had a 18-dining table to accommodate a portion of her family who constantly dropped in to check on her and ask for her "bar aka".She had one of those old huge radios where she would sit with her ladies friends to listen to news or the Qoran.<br />Umm Ali had a small frame,her strong blue eyes contrasted her white creamy complexion,her hair always covered with a white veil.She descended from a Morrocan family,as most of the Beiruiti families did.I remember her the most during the Eid events,where she would sit in her large bed with a beautiful headset,receiving the family who come to kiss her hand after the early Eid prayers.She had envelopes filled with newly minted banknotes,to be distributed to her 45 grandchildren each according to his age.The Eid lunch was a feast like nothing you have seen,with at least a 100 members of the family.<br />I used to go and recite the Qoran at my grandmother's feet,she used to renumerate me with delicious candies stated in her large closet.The matriarch passed away when I was 13,and her memories stay with me like her scent of orange blossoms.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061665328242748532.post-60402493979200892872010-08-11T17:11:21.066-04:002010-08-11T17:11:21.066-04:00This is easily my favorite of your pieces, as you ...This is easily my favorite of your pieces, as you sent me down memory lane, reminding me of a truly special woman. I remember the sadness I felt, as a 10 year old, when she passed away (my first experience with loss). I remember the clean air near her house, the clementines on the trees which we picked and ate by the handful, her playful grin at the dinner table, where she always presided at the head of the table and, where as you wrote, food was plentiful and delicious. I remember her nail polishes, the colors of mother of pearl and rose of damascus, the radio she carried around with her everywhere,and even on her pillowcase. Our father now emulates her, walking around his house in France with a portable radio. <br /><br />I remember feeling comfortable in her warm house and in her neighborhood, because family was everywhere and we could run around as we wished without fear of getting harmed. More than tea time, I picture her sitting in front of the warm fire place, elegantly cross legged (daddy says I inherited her way of sitting :) with a ball of yarn and knitting needles, making sweaters for the Palestinian refugees and her grandchildren alike. She even taught me how to knit. And who can forget the smell of chestnuts roasting in the fire place?<br /><br />Yes, she was a wonderful woman and we miss her very much!<br /><br />Love<br />AmiraAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com