Dorothy Louise Niblett
My grandmother was a very loving person! She had not had a loving childhood. She lived in the country and her father was a farmer. Her dad was good and kind to her and think that is where she got her smile and laugh from that made me love her. Her mom was not very nice to her and made it known many times that she was not planned. My grandmother always told me stories about how her mom would make her wear clothes in her least favorite color. Her two older sisters always wore what they liked. This first picture means the world to me and it has such meaning. My sister In Law found this in boxes after Mom Mom passed and gave everyone at Christmas. Mom Mom had written her name on the picture and it made it even more special to see her handwriting. There was not a dry eye in the room. My grandmother (Mom Mom) always talked about how hard it was for her family as she grew up. She said all three girls had to wear boys shoes which they ordered from the Sear catalog and had to help in the fields in the hot Maryland Eastern Shore Summers picking watermelons and corn. She was very smart and she really ended up having a happy life compared to her other sisters. She was 16 or 17 in the next picture and that is when she met my grandfather(Pop Pop) who really made her life look wonderful compared to his. He had stopped school in the 6th grade to help his poor family try to make ends meet with odd jobs. Mom Mom did go to school until the 11th grade which was all they had then. She told me all the time not to stop learning because she had dropped out to marry Pop Pop but, she knew that times would change and I would not have to stop because of a man as she put it. To me she was very smart and quick with numbers and even helped me with homework sometimes. My memories of Mom Mom are artifacts that show how our times, world and priorities have changed. She passed away several years back now but, some days I still want to pick up the phone and tell her what new things I have learned or done. She was so proud that I was the first Chatham to graduate with my 4 year degree. She would be so proud of what I am doing now and would tell me all the time. She was a person who I think would have gone further in life if maybe life and love hadn't gotten in the way. So I will be proud to someday show her my master degree with Tonia Chatham Chlomoudis on it!
Although I know she already knows!!
Love ya, Mom Mom
Tonia, this post is a lovely tribute to your grandmother and what she meant to you. We spend much of our time together focusing of our role as educators, but it's also important that we consider the people who helped foster our appreciation of education. It sounds as though your grandmother was a key part of teaching you that value.
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