Do you have a Rathma?

In light of Grandparents' Day this past Sunday, we feel like you should know something. We have a Rathma.

What exactly is a Rathma, you ask yourself?

A Rathma is a white haired, loud, loving, inappropriate, free spirit, baking, cooking, non-compliant diabetic, 86 year old Granny.  

THAT is a Rathma. 

She's our maternal Grandmother. And you'll never get her confused with our Mom. They are night and day. Although they look A LOT alike, their personalities are NOT! 

That's her up there in that picture...aggravating Renae's 5 day old infant son last October. Hey there, five day old baby...wave at the camera. That looks perfectly natural.

Granny is flat out the most honest person we've ever known. And we're never really sure how we feel about that!!

(As in, "Honey, you've put on some weight, haven't you?" or "What did you do to your hair?" or "I never liked your dad anyway.")

She's the oldest of nine children. She had to be loud to survive!

She can, ehrrmmm, could (?) cook like nobody's business. We say 'could' because there was this incident about 'stinky macncheese' that happened once with one of Renae's kids. Apparently the Rathma used some rancid old cheese in her made from scratch recipe. (Why look at an expiration date? Who has time?)  And we do recall a chocolate pie that tasted like salt & dirty dish rags...I mean, she's 86. 

But all of our lives Granny, aka 'the Rathma-nator' fed us some of the most amazing home cooked food that she made from her soul. She FEELS food. She is passionate about food and feeding people. It makes her spirit sing. It's how she loves others.

SHE makes OUR spirits sing.

 

RENAE: When I think back to my childhood I remember her making me laugh a lot (by farting really loud in grocery stores), taking us shopping, teaching me how to properly slice a loaf of bread (DON'T smash it, honey. Don't be angry at it. Just gently press & saw away with a SERRATED knife, honey. Serrated. Go get one at Sam's club. They have the best deal.). 

 

DENYSE: I spent a lot of time with Granny while I was growing up. The oldest of three kids, I often needed the extra attention that only grandparents could provide. Granny worked as a chef in a hotel restaurant. She was up at 2:30am daily in order to be at the restaurant by 4:30. She never complained once about a seven year old who would call her at work and ask to be picked up to spend the night later. As long as she had the next day off she would say yes. And I called her a lot. Those were some of the best days that I can remember. I will never forget those times, sliding into the front seat bench of her enormous brown sedan with no seatbelt, headed down the highway with the mountains in view.

RENAE: She also goes to church with us on occasion. She loves Jesus. But you know what she also loves? 

She loves to pinch people's butts as they cross in front of you getting out to the aisle. IN CHURCH. She barely had met one of my good girlfriends. Pinched her tookus during prayer as my friend was getting up to go sing a special.

When I think of her I always giggle.

My kids ADORE her. We live 5 minutes from her house. She fixes them stinky cheese meals & homemade waffles (which are still amazing). She bosses them around & tickles their tummies. 

 

DENYSE: The biggest lesson I've learned from her is generosity. She would never keep found money. If she came across a five dollar bill in her house or in her car, she would hand it to the nearest person to her. This was to our delight of course. She was forever buying things for others. Once in college I dated a boy who was obviously struggling to make ends meet. Out of nowhere appeared shoes and clothes for him. To this day she will hand me a wad of ones and fives when I visit whether I need it or not. "Just a little gas money," she says. Just a little extra Rathma love, I think.

 

And never will she send you away without a loaf of homemade bread. But NEVER, I say, NEVER INSULT HER BREAD WITH MARGERINE!! Real SALTED butter, only, please.

                      ...........

She surely played a big part in training up OUR hearts. Helping us see there is a silver lining. Giving more than anyone we've ever known. Preaching to us, 'you have GOT to LAUGH, honey!!' 

We are thankful for those qualities. 

Granny is a mess. 

A bold, honest, jovial, wobbling, feisty, mess.

I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother (sister), because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. (Philemon 1:4-7 ESV)

 

And so, THAT is a Rathma. Do you have one? In the South we tend to parade our crazy folks around with pride. We submit that there is no crazy here...but by all means some very lovable eccentricity to be enjoyed and from which to learn.

We feel like everyone has at least a little Rathma in them. We know we do. And for that we are thankful.