Feb 17, 2012

Like my grandma.....


I have been large all my life...I say that because I don't remember a time weighing under 140 lbs which,was what I weighed at 12 yrs old. I have always went up and down on the scales but,always have been overweight.
Now,at 52,I am larger than I have ever been.With carrying all this extra weight over my life time...my body isn't holding up well. I am crippled very much by it. I admit I do make bad food choices from time to time but,I have never been a glutton as some might think. Some people just assume when you are large you consume enough food for two or three persons...I assure you I don't. But,being overweight has always been my lot... unfortunately. I am not a scientist but,I tend to think its in the genes and how our bodies process foods. Looking into ones ancestry,I believe this can be determined to be true. 
As is in my case....I believe I developed some of the same fat genes as my Paternal Grandmother...as long as I can remember she too had a weight problem and she didn't eat any differently than any other normal person would eat. She was active in her lifestyle of  gardening,housekeeping and general living. Although she was large in size she was overall very healthy and passed away in her 80's.

This is my niece Angie..she has been told all her life she looks just like me..What do you think?
And all these pictures below are of my grandmother..Angie's great grandmother! I think we both took after grandma...smile.
Grandma and granddaddy
She loved this kitty.
This is how I remember grandma best...I stayed with her over the summers. She made these cool summer dresses to endure the heat...she loved going barefoot too...smile.

Grandma and her two daughters...my Aunts
Grandma and granddaddy...this double exposure is kinda neat.  But,also a little eerie.

Definitely built like my grandma.





I loved my grandma ...every bit of her.She was a very out spoken person and I got my sensitive little feelings hurt more than a few times by her words...but,I still loved her with all my heart. I wasn't one of her favorite grandchildren,and she had them but,after I was grown,grandma and I became much closer.
I cherish the time I got to share with her talking as my husband kept her yard later in her life. 
Although I grew terribly homesick over those summers I spent with her in the country,as a child...I do have some very fond memories of that time,playing with cousins who were there visiting also. She canned some of the biggest Dill Pickles you ever seen...they would last a child all day. You didn't need a all day sucker when you had one of grandma's dill pickles...yum!
Blessings to all............


6 comments:

Denise said...

Shelley,I loved this post and brought back memories of my own dear sweet maternal Granny.My Dad's side of the family were all naturally thin.I look and act like my Mom's Mother too.I agree with you brave girl-it's in the genes.I also have a naturally thin daughter and a heavy daughter that I fed and treated the same.It's in the genes for sure.Beautiful sweet photos.

Unknown said...

It's not your physical size Shelley ... it's your huge heart, you are just beautiful. Loved the memories ...

Have a beautiful weekend ~
Hugs,
TTFN ~
Marydon

Faye Henry said...

Hi.. just found your blog through Preferably Prim.. I had to smile as I read your post.. I take after my Gram too.. smile..
And our grandsons love my dill pickles.. grin..
You are right when you say it must be in the genes..
God bless..

Kathy said...

I am not a small person, being big bined and carrying extra pounds, too. I have always said genes play a part. If you look back a few generations you will find small women and large women, at a time when most women lived about the same: no McDonald's on every corner, you grew what you ate, you worked from "sunup to sundown", most women cooked the same types of food. Still a variety of sizes.
You are lovely, Shelley, inside and out! (and your niece does resemble you!)

Kathy said...

Typo! That should read "big boned" :)

Katie said...

LOVE YOUR POST SHELLEY, AND PICTURES OF GRANDMA.YES I AGREE , ITS IN THE GENES. IVE NEVER BEEN A SKINNEY, MYSELF. SMILE .BUT MINE WAS WHEN I HAD THYROID PROBLEMS, AFTER I WAS BUT ON MEDICATIONS FOR THAT IT HELPED ME TO CONTROL MY WEIGHT MORE . BUT NO MATTER , I ALWAYS PRAY THAT GOD WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR WEIGHT LOSS , CAUSE I KNOW IT WILL BE SO MUCH BETTER FOR YOUR HEALTH. BUT YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL,TO US , AND WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH .XOXOXOXOX