She's 5 feet 3 inches tall, 89 years-old, and sharp as a tack. In the words of Grandma's eternal wisdom: "One time a group of Missourians came down to Iowa to work on the farm and help bale hay. One of the women found out she was pregnant, very pregnant, and she didn't even realize it. She must be a sound sleeper."A few minutes later when my sister-in-law commented on how beautiful Grandma's wedding ring is, Grandma asked to see her ring. When they held their hands together, Grandma's face scrunched up and she looked around confused. "Hey," she persisted indignantly, "yours is bigger than mine."
At my request she told us my favorite story, the story of her courtship with my Grandpa. She was teaching grades K-8 in a one-room school house for $60 a month when Grandpa started coming around. At that time school teachers had to be single and so when he proposed marriage... "I told him that I wanted to teach. I liked to teach. [...] He had two choices. Take it or leave it." He waited five years for her and only when she decided she was done teaching did they get married.
