Wild Violet

Merry Christmas from the Bluegrass everyone!  The day dawned bright and beautiful sans snow but at least it wasn't raining.  Nothing worse than rain on Christmas...unless it's warm temperatures.  I know, many people would disagree but to me Christmas means cold and preferably snow filled.  As a child I remember the anticipation of Christmas spent at my Granny and Ampaw's.

What is an Ampaw?  Welcome to the South, full of Grannies, Nanas, Memaws, Mamaws, Mawmaws. Not too many Grandmas or Grandmothers here. We have a few Grandads or Grandpas, almost no Grandfathers.  Here we call them Papaws, Pawpaws, Papoos, and in my case Ampaw.

Christmas at Granny and Ampaw's meant that my cousins from North Carolina would be visiting. At that time they were the only cousins we had on my mom's side of the family and we only saw them at Christmas and  when they would come stay for a large part of the summer (that meant month long camping trips for us all but that's another story).  Granny always cooked enough for a small army.  Growing up there had been periods in her life where she, her parents, and siblings (there were 19 people in the at home) had very little food.  The same was true for Ampaw who lived during the Great Depression.  Those events in their lives had a lasting effect on the way food was viewed in their house.  First and foremost no one ever went hungry.  If you did, that was by your choice.  When unexpected company would arrive the first thing Granny would do was to cook them "a bite to eat". I remember many many stories told by people (complete strangers to me) at both my grandparent's funerals about how their mothers would come visit with the children knowing that the kids would be fed because there was no food in their own homes.

Holiday meals were always mind boggling.  A huge turkey and country ham were the centerpieces.  There was also a "city ham" or picnic ham "just in case".  Then there were the sides.  Home made cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese (baked, not stove top) sweet potatoes (that my Ampaw raised), corn, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, baked beans, greens, slaw, green beans cooked w/ ham hocks, oyster casserole, cornbread salad, pea salad, fruit salad, seven layer salad, deviled eggs,  angel biscuits, cornbread, dinner rolls, and then the desserts! Jam cake, coconut cake, chocolate fudge, cherry fudge, peanut butter fudge, divinity, sea foam candy, potato rolls (mashed potatoes sweetened then spread with peanut butter and rolled into a log), almond "strawberries", peanut butter balls, pecan balls, and blackberry cobbler.  The only thing on the table that wasn't made from scratch was the cranberry sauce that came straight from the can and was sliced along the tin ridges. Dinner was 'served' at noon but it was a day long graze.

It wasn't unusual for there to be 40+ people in attendance.  The house was for grown ups so unless we were eating, the kids were sent outside.  My grandparents were tobacco sharecroppers so there was always acres and acres of farm and woodland to roam.  Back then the winters were colder (this was the 80's mind you, so not so very long ago) and the creek would usually be partially frozen.  The kids would schooch along testing the edges to see how far we could go out before the ice broke.  The creek was never more than 3 inches deep at this time of year, so we were in no danger of drowning.  When we got thirsty we'd go break off a piece of ice and suck on it; my little sister was sure to fall in the water at least once if not a few more times.

Christmas today is much different.  The family hasn't gathered in that number in twenty years.  Even our core family, my grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins don't anymore.  Ampaw passed in 2010 and Granny passed just this spring.  My mom's siblings decided that they didn't want a family dinner at all so today my parents and I (my sister was killed in '96) will dine alone.  We decided to start our own new tradition, instead of the huge feast of the past we are instead feasting on seafood.  Dad is having swordfish, while Mom and I are having scallops and king crab legs.  As nice as this is, I miss the Christmas' of my childhood. Christmas just isn't the same when you are an adult.