Grandma and the Refrigerator

I was about 4 when my Grandmother moved from having an ice box to a real refrigerator. Maybe it wasn't really an ice box but even I knew that it was pretty outdated. So finally, she had a real refrigerator with a freezer on top and a refrigerator for all other things on bottom, like pies, desserts, vegetables, and milk (delivered by the milkman).

Everyday when I skipped around the block to see Grandma, I so looked forward to opening her back door and immediately there was the smell....a good smell! Something was always cooking in her house early in the day because she and Grandpa ate their big meal at noon each day. Now, being so picky, I probably didn't like half of what she cooked, but it was the SMELL. It was Grandma's.

First thing I did was open the refrigerator to see what to have, if anything. And like all kids, I opened it and just stood there staring for what must have seemed like an electricity-wasting hour in a house of two people who clearly remembered when there was NO electricity available in most homes and no electricity bills to pay. Don't forget, Grandma was born in 1909; Grandpa was born in 1900.

So I just stood there most days, and moreover, she let me stand there each and every time for as long as wanted. I'd finally choose something like cheese, eggs, her homemade bread pudding, rice pudding or something to drink.  And she never said a word about how long it took to choose or the electricity I shouldn't have been wasting. That's what Grandmas do, I guess.