In Grandma's Attic (9 page)

17

Grandma’s Warm Clothes

It was a very cold night, and the wind whistled around the windows as I started to get ready for bed. “I hate to get in bed, Grandma,” I said. “The sheets are going to be so cold.”

“Bring me your nightgown,” said Grandma, “and I’ll iron it for you.”

I brought the nightgown, and Grandma quickly ironed it. When I put it on, it felt warm and toasty, and I hurried to get in bed.

“Did your mother iron your nightgown for you when you were little, Grandma?” I asked.

“No, she didn’t have to iron it,” said Grandma. “We had a place on the back of the old woodstove in the kitchen where we warmed our clothes. It was always cold in winter when we got up or went to bed because our bedrooms were not heated.”

I snuggled into the covers and thought about how lucky I was.

Grandma paused before turning off my light.

“That stove got a little crowded sometimes,” she said with a laugh. “The boys wanted their clothes warmed too, and poor Ma had to work around a pile of shirts and socks and scarves. And one time I almost ruined our chances for warm clothes.”

“You did, Grandma? Tell me what happened,” I said.

Grandma sat down in the rocker.

I woke up very early one morning. It wasn’t light yet, but I could see that snow had drifted in around the window. I knew there must be a storm, and it was going to be cold going to school.

I heard Pa building up the fire before he left for the barn. I knew the boys would be called in a little while, and they would rush down with their clothes to warm them and dress by the fire. After they left for their chores, Ma would call me. I decided I would get a head start on them this morning and get my clothes down to warm before they did.

I got out of bed quietly and gathered up the things Ma had left on the chair for me to wear that day. I tiptoed down to the kitchen and was pleased to see that Ma wasn’t there yet. I’d surprise them all. As I started to put my clothes on the back of the stove, another idea struck me: Why not put them in the oven? They’d heat faster and be much warmer to put on. So I opened the oven door and pushed in my flannel petticoats and heavy stockings. Then I ran back to my room and jumped into bed.

A few minutes later I heard the boys run down to the kitchen, and I listened drowsily as they talked to Ma. Before they had left the house, Pa returned from the barn.

“The storm is getting worse, Maryanne,” he said to Ma. “I don’t believe the children had better go to school today. Even if they took Nellie, they might not be able to get back by afternoon.”

Ma agreed, and I heard the boys’ excited voices as they left for the barn. “I’ll just let Mabel sleep awhile longer then,” said Ma. “She can get up when the kitchen gets warmer.”

This pleased me, and forgetting all about my clothes warming in the oven, I went back to sleep. It was sometime later when Ma came to call me for breakfast.

“Put on your wrapper now, Mabel,” she said. “You can dress after breakfast. You won’t be going to school today.”

While we were eating, Reuben said, “Ma, you must be standing too close to the stove. I can smell your apron burning.”

Ma jumped back from the stove.

“No, it isn’t burning,” she said, “but I do smell something. Did one of you leave a mitten on the back of the stove? Maybe it fell behind.”

Roy got down on the floor to look, but he saw nothing. By this time the odor was stronger, and Ma was looking to see if something had been put in with the wood.

Pa got up to help search.

“I believe it’s coming from the oven,” he said, and he opened the door. Smoke billowed out, and Ma ran to open the kitchen door. Pa quickly reached into the oven and pulled out my petticoats and stockings. The boys looked at the scorched flannel and wool and then at Ma, who had come to survey the mess. Their smug looks said that they were glad it wasn’t their clothes Pa had found in the oven.

“We’ll be up to the tops of our shoes in snow in our own kitchen,” Pa said as he went to close the door. “Who is responsible for this foolishness?”

Of course everyone looked at me. “I just wanted to warm my clothes,” I said in a small voice. “I guess I forgot they were in there.”

“You’ll have more than warm clothes if you pull a trick like that again,” Ma said to me. “Now get the broom and sweep out that snow. I declare, I don’t know what possesses you to be so thoughtless.”

Ma picked up my clothes and held them at arm’s length.

“Hardly even fit for rags,” she said. “My, I hope you grow up to have a little sense. It won’t be safe to let you out alone if you don’t.”

I was properly ashamed and managed to be pretty quiet the rest of the day. Ma saw to warming my clothes from then on.

Grandma laughed and turned out my light. I listened sleepily to the wind and was thankful for a warm bed and a grandma who knew such good stories.

18

Grandma’s Prayer

The day was very hot, and I flopped down on the steps where Grandma was shelling peas for supper.

“Oh, dear,” I complained, “why does it have to be so hot? Couldn’t we pray that the Lord would send us some cold weather?”

Grandma laughed and threw me a pod to chew on.

“It will be cooler when the sun goes down,” she said. “I don’t think the Lord wants us to pray for something like that. In fact, I learned that lesson the hard way.”

The heat suddenly seemed a little easier to bear if there was to be a story, so I settled back on the steps and waited expectantly. Grandma smiled to herself and began.

It happened the summer I was nine years old. It was a day in August, much like this one. Pa had been up to the house several times for a cool drink and finally said to Ma, “I guess I’ll have to give up on the fences until later. It’s just too hot to work out there. But if this heat doesn’t let up so I can finish, we won’t be able to get in to town on Saturday. I’ll have to work early in the morning and after the sun goes down.”

Pa returned to the barn, and I sat beside the cellar door thinking about what I had heard. Not go to town on Saturday! That just couldn’t be! Sarah Jane and I had planned the whole day, and I just couldn’t miss it.

I turned the problem over in my mind for some time. What could I do about the heat? Nothing, of course. And if Pa said no trip, then it was no trip.

After supper Pa took down the big Bible for prayers. The scripture he chose perked me up considerably. He read, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

That was the answer! I’d pray for cool weather tomorrow so that Pa could finish his fences. While Pa thanked the Lord for His goodness to us and asked His blessing on our home, I had just one request: “Please make it cool tomorrow.”

I awoke early the next morning and ran to the window to look for clouds. I knew at once that my prayer was not answered. The sun was coming up, and the sky was clear. It promised to be as hot as yesterday, perhaps even hotter.

I ate breakfast in glum silence. Maybe I hadn’t prayed hard enough. Or maybe I didn’t promise enough in return.

As soon as I had finished helping Ma in the kitchen, I hurried to my room to ask the Lord again for cool weather. This time I promised to be obedient, kind to my brothers, and more help to Ma.

I was so sure I had been heard that it was no surprise to hear Ma say, shortly after noon, “Would you look at those black clouds coming over! Mabel, run and shut the windows in the boys’ room. I believe it’s going to rain!”

The sky grew blacker and a chill breeze came around the porch as I watched the results of my prayers. But to tell the truth, I was becoming a bit worried. This didn’t look like an ordinary rainstorm to me. And it wasn’t. In a few minutes the clouds broke and it began to hail. Pep ran yipping under the porch, and I hurried inside to be nearer to Ma.

The storm was over in a short time. Pa and the boys came in from the barn, and Pa dropped heavily into a chair.

“Well, Maryanne,” he said, “that did a lot of damage to the wheat. We may be able to save some of it, but it was pretty badly beaten.”

I didn’t listen further. I ran to my room and threw myself on my bed. The wheat was ruined, and it was all my fault. What would Pa do to me when he found out? I had just prayed for cool weather, not total destruction! I had probably promised too much this time. What would the family think of me if they knew I had brought on this terrible hailstorm? I was determined that they should not find out.

But when Pa prayed that evening and thanked the Lord for His blessing and care, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I began to sob and cry, and Ma looked around in concern. Pa picked me up and put me on his lap, and finally the story came out.

“Why, Mabel,” said Pa, “don’t you worry about that. Just remember that the Lord doesn’t expect us to ask favors for our convenience or pleasure. A hailstorm often follows a hot spell like this, and your prayers didn’t bring it on.”

Grandma picked up the pans to carry them to the kitchen.

“I was comforted by Pa’s assurance,” she said. “But I didn’t forget that day. It taught me to pray for the Lord’s will instead of demanding what I wanted.”