When Grandma Was A Little Girl - #52

52-Mrs. McDaniel – a sweet old lady that had a house that smelled kind of funny

Do you know a sweet elderly lady that you enjoy visiting or talking with her?

My mother loved this sweet little old lady, a widow, who used to live in our town of Tularosa where I grew up. Later they moved to Alamogordo, 12 miles south of us. Her husband was a doctor. I don’t know exactly how my mom and Mrs. Mac Daniel became friends, but they were very good friends. My mother always found a lot of joy in visiting with her. They only had one child and her name was Olive Jane. Olive grew up and married and her husband’s name was Romeo. How charming! She too only had one child, a daughter named Jeanette. Mrs. Mac Daniel was like a surrogate mother for my mom.

Mrs. Mac Daniel was the sweetest little old lady. She was about 5’ tall with gray hair and she wore it pulled back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She always had some stray whisps of hair around her face. Her eyes were blue and she wore glasses. She had an older persons kind of gravelly voice but it was a sweet voice. She had the kindest face and eyes. She was a gentle person and full of love. I loved to hear her laugh and it seemed as if her eyes had a twinkle. My mother would go over and visit her. In the summer months, sometimes I would go with her. Her house always smelled funny, like an old person’s home does, kind of musty and funny. Mrs. McDaniel had a wicker basket that had a few toys in it. I always like to go see what was in it to play with. She also had a little black and white Boston Terrier. It barked sometimes but for the most part was quiet and a very good little dog. Mrs. Mac Daniel loved her little pooch. I can’t recall the dog’s name. That was another thing about her house; it also smelled just a little bit like a dog.

My mom would visit Mrs. Mac Daniel a couple times a month. Usually before or after mom went shopping. She’d just drop in a visit her. My mom would visit Mrs. Mac Daniel because she said that this sweet, dear old lady was lonely. Whenever she saw us come up to the door to visit she always smiled and welcomed us in and was always ‘so glad to see us!’ We would visit for an hour or two and then go home. I don’t remember too much about most of their conversations. Sometimes it would be about us kids and how we behaved. Mrs. Mac Daniel would laugh her sweet laugh and tell her, “Jane their just kids. Enjoy them!’ Later my mom would tell me how much she enjoyed her visits with Mrs. Mac Daniel and how she always felt better after visiting her. She was like a mother to her.

One day my mom got a call from Olive Jane, Mrs. Mac Daniel’s daughter, and she told my mom that her mom had passed away. I can’t remember exactly how old she was, but I’m pretty sure that she was in her 80’s. I remember my mom crying and that she was sad because she was really going to miss that dear sweet soul.

I think it is sweet and special to love someone like her. She was special to my mom. When I am old I hope that I can emulate that kind of elderly person Mrs. Mac Daniel was and that people would want to remember me like my mom and I remembered her. It helps remind me not to grow old and crotchety and be unhappy and be a grumbler. I hope that I grow old being kind and sweet.