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MEMORIES OF MY GRANPMOTHER AND GRANDFATHER
Marguerite Lucy Hopkins-Gabe
The^ circumstances of my early childhood were such that, like Andre, it is difficult to separate the imagined from the real - especially of time and place. Therefore I will deal entirely with the real and begin where my recollections begin - life with my maternal grandparents, Oneziphore and Lucie Blanchard, who were surrogate parents to my brother, my sister and me from my earliest recollection until my early teens. I have no memory of my parents before this time -only in fantasy.
I have a warm and loving memory of my grandparents, attributed to the fact that they nurtured my sister, my brother and me with warmth and love that I can remember to this day. We never lacked what today is termed 'quality time!,despite the fact that they already had an overly large family to rear. As a matter of fact, it was because of the attention and love of these aunts and uncles that we never realized our true situation and were very happy and secure.
For me, as a child, there was a presence about my grandmother. She was always there. She had a quiet manner and a quiet voice. She was self-contained and very kind and self-sacrificing. In lCor. 13, St.
Paul says "There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure?.My grandmother understood this - she was the personification of love and gave it generously. When I was a child, I knew this about my grandmother - I loved her and felt safe with her. Now, in my maturity and a mother myself, I know this about her, she was a saint.
My grandmother was a devout Catholic and in her bedroom was an altar where she sought sanctuary to pray from time to time through the day.
In the center was a crucifix and on one side a picture of St. Theresa for whom she had a deep reverence and respect for her way of life and unquestionably emulated her. There was always a vase of fresh flowers on the other side (season permitting)^ She also had a singing canary in her bedroom - her place of respite in moments of sadness and trial. There were many such moments, I am sure, with the large family and the added responsibility of three little grandchildren.
She was an excellent cook and with the help of the girls when they were still at home prepared delicious meals for as many as twelve or more daily. She was also an excellent seamstress and sewed for the girls and later for us when we came to live with them. She was also the housekeeper. I learned to sew and cook just watching her and put much of what I learned into practice when I married and had my family.
I have a very tender rememberance of sitting with her in a swing on the front porch one afternoon when she seemed very sad and very tired. She began sharing with me the tragedy of the death of Achille. I was just a child and not knowing what to say I took her hand in mine and she was reduced to tears and sobbing - after all those years. Many years later I was to be reminded of this afternoon when our first child died - I remembered her deep grief.
I	wonder how many remember what a beautiful singing voice she had. She loved the operas and knew many of the arias and sang them almost daily as she went about her chores and way of life. Aunt Corrine also had a lovely voice and often she and Grandma sang together and it was beautiful to hear. There was much singing in that hou^e and much laughter -