"I Knew You Were Waiting For Me!"...by Jim Terry

It is the eve of summer and as we are rapidly approaching the beginning of fall, I can’t help but think, “Where has the time gone?” Today is also another national holiday known to us as Labor day. Hopefully, you are lucky enough, as I am, to not have to work today and can enjoy your day. If you are working today, “THANK YOU” and know you are appreciated for your efforts.

As time appears to speed up as I age, I find myself ever so more conflicted in this ever progressively crazy world we live in trying to find a bit of peace and happiness. The world just seems to be falling apart, doesn't it? In times like this, I find myself relying on my thoughts and my memories to once again draw a smile. This particular memory is one that is dear to my heart and will coincide with our holiday today, which deals with “labor.”

Picture it…1987. It was a time of cropped tanks and tops, shoulder pads, aerobic gear, baggy sweatshirts over that aerobic gear, Nike, and, if you were really "rad," you owned a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses. It was also a time when I was a really young lad…Seventeen years old to be exact.

Ever since I was about 8 years old, I remember that my “job” during the summers was to help my grandmother, Hattie, by mowing her lawn weekly. Nineteen eighty-seven also ended up being the summer where my grandmother also needed her house repainted.

Stripping the paint from a house today is simple! You use a pressure washer or a variety of several other power tools to help you make the job easier. However, I was not that fortunate. Hand scraping the peeling paint from the home and re-nailing the siding that was pulling away from the side of the home proved to be an almost 2-week process if I remember correctly. There also was a lot of time listening to the “top 40” play the same songs again and again on the radio during that summer.

One song that I grew to love during that time, and still love today, which always reminds me of my grandmother while working at her home is a song sung by George Michael and Aretha Franklin, "I knew you were waiting for me." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDxzQJaA228

I can’t tell you the number of times I heard that song while working at her home, but those of us that had to listen to the radio back in the day, know they would relentlessly play the same songs over and over again until they fell from their top spots. This song was no different.

So each and every time I would show up at my grandmother’s home to either start painting or mow her yard over the years, there she would be. She would have already completed the edges of the yard by doing the trimming and had already completed one round of mowing around the perimeter of her yard to prove, “She could still do it.” While I was painting, she would have already put out the tarps, the ladders, and the paint to make sure, “I was ready” for my tasks ahead. I actually have to laugh at the vintage cartoon photo included with today's blog of a grandmother mowing the yard stating, "Why should the boys have all the fun?' This definitely reminds me of my grandmother.

And since my grandmother was also hip in keeping up with the fashion trends, she would also be sporting some very familiar attire for the time...a headband. The headband you ask? A dishtowel tied around her head to keep the sweat from running into her eyes. An Egley family trait, which I also inherited…sweating easily! I remember her saying as she worked, "Gad, it's hot!"

So as I reminisce and find hope and happiness in these memories, I want to thank my grandmother for allowing me to labor and provide her with the help she needed. These endeavors also taught me some valuable lessons concerning the value of a dollar, the value of work, allowed me to spend time with her, and unbeknownst to me at that time, has formed some of my most wonderful and cherished memories. The best part of that cherished memory that I hold close and dear to my heart and want to tell my grandmother is, "Each and every time I would pull up to your home or be dropped off by family, I KNEW YOU WERE WAITING FOR ME! Gad, I love and miss you, Grandma!"

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!

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