Chapter 10 1 My grandmother on my father s side is my only living grandparent and I guess I would say her role is that of historian or ancestor My grandmother is an amazing women who had a rough childhood and really endured some tough times I couldn t imagine going through some of the things that she did and surviving sometimes when I think I have it rough I think about some of the stories she has told me and I know that it could be worse Her mother my greatgrandmother was 100 Cherokee and left her children and married some other man My greatgrandfather was a very mean spirited man and my grandmother married my grandfather to get away from him My aunt helped my grandmother write a memoir that is very interesting and I learned more about my family s history from it When I was younger I would say my grandmother played the role of nurturer but that changed as I got older and my parents divorced She played the role of nurturer when I was in elementary and middle school If I ever was sick during the school year my grandmother would take care of me and I remember feeling comforted in her care She also always thought she needed to fatten me up and would make the best macaroni and cheese and there was also always a cookie jar full of cookies I would munch on I guess as I got older I needed nurturing less but she still made sure I was fed well when I visited When my parents divorced my visits became less frequent because she would bad mouth my mother She never really liked my mom or any of my uncles wives for that matter but it became more apparent when my parents divorced I still love my grandmother very much and I do go visit her when I am in Mississippi but her roles did change as I got older and my visits became less frequent Her role as historian always gave me the feeling that I belong to something bigger than me and for that I am forever thankful 2 I think when my grandfather on my father s side passed away my father and his siblings had to become closer because my grandmother has never had a driver s license and they had to communicate more to schedule my grandmother s grocery shopping and doctor s visits I may have heard a few comments made about my Aunt Peggy because she was charging my grandmother to take her places and trying to convince my grandmother to sell her house and give the money to her and she would then buy my grandmother a mobile home to put on her property It s a joke in my father s family about my aunt because she has always been a little money hungry My grandmother knew her house was worth a whole lot more than a mobile home would be and told my aunt absolutely not I believe that was the only concern my father and his siblings had and for the most part they became closer after my grandfather died I know this is not the typical pattern of interaction between siblings when a parent dies but I think the fact that they all had to communicate about schedules made them become closer