Both of my grandparents are from a small town called Oakwood in East Texas, probably won't even come up on google maps. They met in middle school, dated until they graduated and then got married. They have been married for 60 years! True commitment! Anywho, I used to visit Oakwood in the summer time when all of my friends were doing cool stuff with their family....I was in the middle of nowhere...at the hottest time of the year...It was the worst and I swore that I hated Texas and I hated the country. Funny how time changes things :) I love going to my grandma's house now and enjoying the land and the peace and quiet. Up until recently, my phone wouldn't even work out there! This past weekend I needed some grandma and grandpa love, so I decided to hop in the Jeep and take a ride to East Texas...There is just something about grandma's house. There is so much family history out there that I love seeing, and something about the country that brings me peace. Living in the city is great, there is so much to do and there are awesome people that you cross paths with, but going to the country to free your mind is so necessary....for me at least :)
I let the windows down, let my hair down, turned the music up and rode about 2 and a half hours south of Dallas to Oakwood. Once I got on those back roads, I knew I was home. Everything felt better. I pulled up to the house and sat there for a minute and expressed my gratitude. I am very fortunate to have both sets of grandparents still living. My grandpa is 82 and my grandma is 79 (On my mom's side). My grandpa just recently started dialysis and it has caused a lot of changes in our life. It was a big part of why I relocated to Dallas as well. I know that they will not be here forever, so these little trips mean a lot. When I got out and walked through the door, my grandma was making my favorite.....TEACAKES!!!
Now, for those of you who think that tea cakes are cookies....get out. LOL They are so much more than a cookie!! They are the definition of LOVE!! She makes hers from scratch and I can't give y'all the exact recipe because.....I would have to charge for all that. But I am not kidding when I say that the main ingredient is love. So when I walked in and saw her rolling dough, all my problems that weren't left on the country road, melted away. I danced my way to the kitchen from the door and kissed her on the cheek. She knew what she was doing dammit! I watched closely as she went through the process effortlessly, like it was second nature.
I sat down on the bar stool in front of the counter where magic was being performed and we just started talking. My grandma is the realest there is. Conversation began to flow and we started talking about our favorite shows, trying to predict what was going to happen next....I was asking questions about what she was doing and she was giving me baking pointers.... (Secret: I can cook but I CANNOT bake LOL)...I was showing her pictures of what is going on in my life....just like I was talking to my best friend. Something about grandma....
About 15 minutes passed and my grandma has pulled out 3 different trays of tea cakes in the midst of our conversation. You know it went down! Then she tells me "Don't eat 'em all, you'll get sick!" Ummm...then why did you put all of these in front of me?! You know I can't help myself! They were so good! Exactly the recharge that I needed. Food is definitely comforting to me, which is why I need to get this fit life started because I don't want to be unhealthy. After I ate a couple of tea cakes, my grandpa walked in the door. "Heyyyyyy there little bit!!" I love his reactions, he didn't know I was coming. I met him halfway and gave him a huge hug! He showed me his battle scars from his dialysis and talked a bit about his treatments. Prayers/good vibes are always appreciated for him.
After stuffing about 4 more tea cakes in my mouth, I took a walk around the house like I always do. I always walk around and reminisce....act like I didn't look at the same pictures the last time I came home. Remembering all of the loved one's we have lost, laughing at how some of us used to look, remembering particular moments. I love pictures because no matter how long it has been or where you are a picture can take you back to a certain place....just like music. It can also show you and remind you of where you came from...keep you grounded. My grandma has photo albums for dayyys!! She has pictures from when she was a child and they are in amazing condition, so I try to go through them every once in a while and ask as many questions as I can. She also has a wall of photos for each of her children. Yes, each child has a wall LOL I always look at the other walls to see if there are any new pics up of my cousins for me to make fun of.
After my walk my grandpa mentioned going down to the church, so I offered to drive them. My grandpa is getting to that age where he does not need to drive. Luckily there is not a lot of traffic in the country, so that will afford him a couple more years of driving. My grandma gathered a couple things to take to the church and my grandpa grabbed his windbreaker. He opened the car door for my grandma (which I think is the cutest thing that he still does that) and we headed up the road to their home church, Shiloh Baptist Church. While they were doing what they had to do inside, I went across the road (Literally walking distance across the gravel from the church) to the cemetery.
This cemetery is where the majority of my family is buried. My great grandparents, a couple great aunts and uncles, cousins, and family friends. I always make sure I come by and see everyone when I come visit Oakwood. Just standing out here, no cars honking, no music playing, nobody talking, looking out into the fields.....Once again, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude. I never got the chance to meet my great grandma, but I have heard that I carry a lot of her traits.
I always make sure I stop by her house whenever I visit as well. We call this "down home". This house has been in our family for so long. Built from the ground up by my great grandparents. The land was worked by my great grandma and great grandpa, later my grandparents and after that my mom and her siblings helped maintain the land. There are over 200 acres on this particular lot. My great uncle currently lives there and takes care of the cows and the crops. He plants Watermelons, pumpkins, greens, peas, you name it. I get out there occasionally and pick peas but it is a lot of work!! But those watermelon are so sweeettt!!! MMM MM!!! He has a hog trap set up out there too so he can catch hog and cook it! Yassss, that good old country livin!!
He puts fruit in the cage and when they cross the wire, it trips the door shut. Then you shoot em and cook em! That is what we ate for our last family reunion! Homemade pit, coals and roasted hog! Love it!
All in all, my trip home was a great one, as always. It was quick but grandma knew just what I needed. This city girl is definitely a country girl at heart! If you are reading this right now and can't get to grandma's house or the country but need some love....I am sending it your way now! I still have some left over from the weekend :)
Love,
Meek
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