The golden goose and some food for thought

my grandmother, my mother's mother, is an immensely important and special person in my life. we grandchildren call her 'Ma', and she will always be Ma, just as the spare room in our house where she used to sleep when she stayed over will always be 'Ma's room', regardless of the fact that she hasn't slept there in years. Ma has been present in my life from day one, looking after me, telling me stories and making me crumpets. she has been watching Bold and the Beautiful since before i can remember, and will keep watching it for the rest of her life. she is my constant, a source of comfort. life may rush around me like a tornado, ever changing, at times too fast for me to keep up, but through it all, Ma remains the same; i take comfort in the fact that over my 18 years of knowing her, she has not changed in any drastic or unpleasant way.

Muriel 'Olive' King is a woman to be admired. i remember once, she wrote a story, her life story, entitled 'The story of Margret'. it was a touching tale, i remember reading it. it detailed the hardships my beloved Ma suffered in her earlier life, long before i knew her, however she never complained, rather, she accepted what life dealt her and kept her faith steadfast and her chin up. she lost a parent at an early age, and later in her life she had twin sons, only to have one die. she grew up amongst the racism of Apartheid South Africa, and in moving to Australia, she left half of her family behind. she has had hip and knee operations and recently recovered from pnuemonia. and yet, not once has she stopped trusting God, or being thankful that she is better off than others. Ma is not a tragic hero, just a mother, grandmother and friend, who gives love unconditionally. we arrogant young may think we know better than our elderly folk, but i believe there is a lot to be learned from someone like my grandmother.

on a less somber note, i have many happy memories from childhood that involve Ma, perhaps the majority of my childhood memories revolve around her. i remember the stories she told me while i ate my dinner - Jack and the Beanstalk, the three bears, little red riding hood, the three little pigs. simple tales that every child is familiar with, but for some reason they stick in my memory with warm and happy connotations. i remember the crumpets she always made for us, that we ate with butter and jam. and the colorful scarves she used to own, that as a child i would adorn my self with and parade around her little house. and the songs she still sometimes sings, about a camel's hump, mermaids, and sausages for breakfast. i remember lying on her bed next to her while she knitted or read, or watched bold and the beautiful. it was always the best thing, sleepovers at Ma's house.

there are so many more memories, far too many to list here, and i know there will be more to come. Ma is an inspirational, beautiful person. everyone i know and a lot of people i don't know all love her, she is forever making friends. i feel truly blessed to have this amazing woman in my life, priveliged to have her as my grandmother. i will finish with a song she used to sing to me.

"Mermaids, mermaids are we,

our home is in the deep blue sea.

all day long we lie on the rocks,

singing and combing our golden locks.

but don't come near,

or away we'll go,

away we'll go,

into the sea below..."