Gladys

My great-grandmother, Gladys, aka Mama Leigh, was a strong woman. In my memory she was tall and stout, with black curls and sharp black eyes. She was unafraid of telling her opinion, but generally she just gave her opinion (her poor opinion) with an expression that could wither the strongest resolve. She would tilt her head back a tiny bit, her lips would tighten, her eyes would narrow. It was subtle, but unmistakable.

Once, when I was about 12, Mama Leigh gave me $5 with instructions to buy myself a pair of jeans. My grandmother and I went to the local Winn's store, where I looked at the jeans, and when I discovered that even the cheapest jeans were at least $8, I used my $5 to buy a tea set for my doll house instead. A few days later my great-grandmother asked me if I had bought the jeans. No, I said, I couldn't find jeans for five dollars so I bought a doll tea set instead. Her look made me shrink right there. She looked at me for a few moments, not speaking, then turned to my grandmother and gave her $10 with instructions to buy jeans for me. She never said anything more, but ... she didn't need to.

Mama Leigh passed away when I was 14. When I was 17 I acquired a cat, Cecelia, who became my mothers cat when I moved away to college. My mother called Cece Gladys from time to time, when she gave us the imperious look. Even for a cat, Cece was royalty. She passed on, regally overweight, a few years ago.

Last week Arabella went to a birthday party, and even siblings and parents were invited, so we all went. The birthday girls family had planned a bunch of kids games, and brought many odds and ends, including a large plastic coffee can, and a bunch of wooden clothes pegs. I don't know what game that was supposed to be for, but Sabine found the pegs and can entertaining, removing the pegs one at a time, examining each before they were sorted either onto the ground, into the mouth or back in the can. A bit later the birthday girls father, Jason, trying to bring Sabine into the marching band spirit*, tried to show Sabine how to use the can as a drum. Jason upended the can, tapped on it with a peg, then handed the peg to Sabine. Sabine nearly immediately threw the peg to the ground, turned the coffee can open end up again, and carefully picked up the peg and placed it in the can. Then she looked up at Jason, leaned her head back so she was looking down her nose, narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, as if to say "That's how you do it."

Dissed by a 10 month old baby. It was pure Gladys.

*we were the only gift givers who didn't give musical instruments. Michael asked what the parents had been doing to stimulate such animosity, but i think they are just a musical family. We gave art supplies, quieter but messier.