I was born in Mississippi and lived there until I was three. I don't remember much about that time except a few random recollections. My granparents on my mother's side lived in the same town and we would always go visit. Once we moved to Twin Falls, Idaho I didn't visit them again until I was 8 and my Grandpa was dying of lung cancer.
I remember the smells the most. My grandma;s house smelled like cooked black beans, coffee, and a hint of cigarrette smoke. It didn't smell bad by any means. Not to me. In fact, I love the smell of coffee because of this memory, I think. It is a comforting, homey, southern smell that makes me happy to think about. It also triggers a flash of images and other things from early on in my life before my memories got stored properly.
My Aunt Diana and her family lived right across the street from my Grandma. They had a neat blue house with a basketball hoop. I remember lots of trees and the humidity. I also remember the Sonic restaurant behind my Grandma's house and outside always smelled like tator tots.
My Grandma had a comfy, cozy living room that all of us cousins hung out in and had mini slumber parties. A lot has changed since then, but these are really strong memories for me that spanned about a month or less in time.
My grandparents on my father's side live in the Hollister area of Idaho. They own a lot of farmland and live way out in the middle of nowhere. I have a lot of memories of playing in the numerous treehouses, forts, and clubhouses that we made in various locations. One in particular was a tuft of tall trees that had anough space in between to have designated rooms for living, sleeping, and cooking. The canal ran right past so it was a perfect location. My and my cousin, Stephanie (and sometimes Shauna, Brad, and Lindsey), would play out there for hours whipping up delicious leaf and mud stews, reed pies, and rock desserts. I remember being obsessed with the movie "Hocus Pocus" and so I would force them to play witches with me. We would brew up some potions and bottle them (we dug out old bottles, pans, and other things out of the burn pile where they dumped the trash) to poison or curse our imagined enemies. It was great.
Inside my granny's house was always some sort of delicious treat that we were not allowed to eat unless we had permission (which usually was after dinner time...this was hard on me because I ate ALL day long at my own house). It smelled like a hint of chlorinated water, dried fruit, and dusty keepsakes.
There were always lots of collectable dolls, dishes, paintings, nativities, Book of Mormon story videos, and old toys. Our favorite inside play things were the tea sets and porcelain dishes that were kept in a special drawer. I was always scared to touch anything because I didn't want to get in trouble, so I would only play with them if my cousin asked first. I never asked, because I was terrified of Granny.
There was always a plastic, grey suitcase filled with old Barbies, and Barbie clothes. The case had a strip of foam in it and we would pretend the case was a big house and that foam was the bed. We would argue over who got the prettiest Barbie with the relaly long, straight, blonde hair. If I didn't get her, I always picked the older Barbie with the curly blonde hair. I think she was from 1950. She had a fuller face than the other dolls.
There was also the TV room that we would go play in. It had an organ, a tred mill, and two recliners. We would play on each of those and then nestle in and watch a movie. I liked the Book of Mormon Stories and Oscar.
A lot of the time it would just be me and my sister and older brother out there while my Dad was working on something in the shop (probably a car since we always had perpetual car troubles). If my Granny was out and Grandoa was helping my Dad, we would loot the cupboards and the fridge and eat like Kings while watching movies.
It was really fun to go out there when I was younger. My Granny made doughnuts around Halloween and that was delcious. We would have many family get togethers around holidays and birthdays and that was always fun. It was a big house with lots of room to gather and be a happy family in.
If there was something I could change, it would be that I could know my grandparents better. I miss my Grandpa Higginbotham. I feel his spirit often and cherish the two memories I have of him. My Grandma Hughes is Alabama and I am so glad that I can see her sometimes and visit. I love her so much. My Silvester grandparents had a hand in raising me and teaching me a lot of valuable lessons. I just wish they were more open to expressing feelings, that way I could feel welcome and want to get to know them more. Perhaps I will make a goal to try and do that more often.
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