For three years our grandson had visited with us on holidays, now it was to be his six-year old sister’s turn. He had already cautioned her “You’d better learn to say please and thank you if you are going to stay at Grandma’s house.”
Both Grandpa and I were counting the “sleeps” till she arrived and there she was at the airport, pink carry-on matching her pink ball cap. With grown up dignity she seemed as blasé about her first flight as a seasoned traveler.
The ride home consisted of a list of up-coming events including baking a batch of cookies, board games (which she beat me at consistently) and shopping.
“No clothes” she said. “just toys”. I didn’t argue. As the mother of two daughters I knew she’d be changing her tune in a few years.
But the big event was the ‘Tea Party’.
“Is this the kind of party where you have to eat sandwiches before you can eat the cake?” she enquired. I assured her she could have the cake first.
Of course it was to be a sophisticated event and all invited ladies were requested to wear hats, much to their amusement. I resurrected a pale blue creation with a matching veil.
“It’s cool” my young granddaughter assured me.
In her own navy dress with matching tam, she opened the door with “Good afternoon, please come in.” then giggled as she ran ahead to lead them into the living room.
The ladies themselves could hardly keep a straight face as they gazed at millinery that hadn’t seen the light of day for years.
My raspberry shortcake was not a rousing success, as my young granddaughter grimaced and said “Yuck” as she tasted the tart raspberries. I silence her with a look and she just nibbled around the cake leaving the offensive berries at the side.
When all was done, she helped me fetch the coats and with a “Thank you for visiting”, she showed them out the door.
Clean up was nearly over when I realized I still had my hat on. I felt a bit sad as I lifted it off my head. I doubted if I would ever wear it again.
Maybe someday hats will be back in style and my then grown-up granddaughter will say “I remember, years ago, at a tea party at my Grandma’s, all the ladies wore hats. It’s a special memory I have of her and I’ve loved hats ever since.”
Revised from article in Maturity Magazine May/June 1996
