Chad has been helping my uncle clear parts of the land that was my grandparents’ old farm. I love that land!
Grandparents’ Old Farm
That’s where I learned to grow tomatoes and beans; and to pick beans and sit on the front porch late into the evening shelling beans for my grandma to can or freeze. The old home is long gone but until I was a teen, the house was not air conditioned and didn’t have indoor plumbing but, yet, I would rather have been up there than any place else. My parents lived two hours south of my grandparents and I spent as much time as I could there and I would have lived there full time if anyone would have given me the ok. There was no telephone. The TV had rabbit ears and I think all it picked up was The Lawrence Welk Show because that’s the only time I ever remember it being on. There were definitely no neighbors. The old road in the front of the house was dirt – dusty when it was dry and slippery when it was wet. It was probably a mile to my cousin’s house and even as a little kid, I’d walk down there by myself to visit. If I stayed too long and it was getting dark, someone would drive me home. Doors were never locked. We never missed a church service. My grandma always had a pie or a cake on the dining room corner shelf.
Grandparents’ Old Farm
My grandma had an old treadle sewing machine. She taught me to sew on that old machine. She would cut squares from scraps or feed sacks and I would spend hours sewing. She also taught me to embroider and to crochet. My grandma played the piano at their church and she had a piano in the living room. My uncle has the piano in his living room. I wish I had learned to play. She played by ear and I guess she never learned to read music but she could definitely play that piano!
My grandma always had chickens, and old Spot, the cow . . and we had raw milk . . half the time it was warm because my grandma would go out and milk old Spot right before breakfast.
I would not be surprised one bit if some day Chad and his family end up living on that land. It puts him close to the lake where he loves to fish – Toledo Bend. There’s a Walmart in the town near there. I keep telling Vince I want to move back there. I was born in that town and I said . . how many people get to die in the same zip code where they were born? I don’t even know if they had zip codes back when I was born!
I love seeing Addie making memories at the same place I made memories when I was her age. By the time Chad was old enough to remember, the old home place was gone and my grandparents had moved down close to where my parents and aunt and uncle lived but every time we were in the area, we would stop by there, and Chad has heard my stories about the time I spent there so, I think he actually feels a connection to that land too.
Addie & Flowers
My grandma loved growing pretty flowers. She had beautiful flower beds. I think she would be so happy to see that Addie has found a little wildflower on the old farm.
Addie & Bugs
Oops! She also found bugs. Louisiana is about as bad as Texas when it comes to obnoxious critters.
Addie & Bugs
That girl is not afraid of anything. I could be wrong but I see her growing up to want to live in the country . . no city life for this girl.
Grandparents’ Old Farm
Yes, I do love that land . . mostly because of the fond memories I have of time spent there. I think my time spent there is what had the most influence on shaping my life . and the things I love today. Maybe instead of trying to convince Vince to move to MO, I should be working on getting him to move to that land and then working on getting Chad, Nicole and Addie to move there. I still have family there . . more family than I have anywhere else so I’m thinking it wouldn’t be a bad place to live. Can I convince anyone else to move there with me? 🙂
Carolyn says
I think your thoughts are right on target and sounds like the perfect plan. Go far it!
montanaclarks says
Sounds good to me Judy! But I’m not going with you–no living in the south for me any more–the humidity, the heat, the bugs–nope. 🙂 🙂 But I do love going “home” to visit!
Carolyn says
I love that you have so many happy memories of your childhood with your grandparents! I have some of my grandparents who lived in Racine, WI…they had a huge garden and I remember going in the backyard to pick raspberries and blueberries for our breakfast. She had beautiful flowers. I hope that you ALL go live on the land, it sounds perfect to me! How could Vince complain…he’d have fun with Chad’s family and you and Nicole could knit up your yarn stash so you could shop more!
Diana Edwards says
Love the fact that we have our memories to reflect back on. Truly enjoy them.
Sherrill Pecere says
I remembering going to school without A/C but pretty sure we had it in our house and definitely had ‘indoor plumbing’..HA! We did have an outhouse when we went to Girl Scout camp and that was the GROSSEST thing in the world to me. YUCK! How much land is there? Maybe you could have a Laquidara compound. LOL
Sara F says
Such sweet pictures of Addie with the flower and the bugs! She’s building great memories of that place too.
Judy Laquidara says
It is so nice to think she’s making memories in the same place where I was making memories at that same age.
liz says
After my Dad passed away, I remember finding an interesting floor plan in the newspaper. It had a larger central living area with large wings for individual living/sleeping. It was large enough for several generations to live in, yet be separate enough to live peacefully. I joked to my mom that we should find land somewhere and build a variation of it with my aunt. It could become the family “retirement home”.
I agree if there is adequate amount of land, consider creating a multi-family compound.
Judy Laquidara says
I’ve always thought something like that would be nice but sometimes, I think . . I don’t want to know what Addie is doing every minute of the day when she’s 15. 🙂
Terri Schanz says
I don’t think I could tolerate the heat, the humidity, or the bugs!! The deep South is just not for me for a lot of reasons, but I think the biggest one is the schools. Louisiana schools are ranke the lowest in the country. That would be a deal breaker for me if I had kids in school.
Judy Laquidara says
Every state has some issues. It depends on the list you’re seeing. This one has Louisiana down near the bottom but not “the lowest”. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education/prek-12
I am a product of Louisiana schools. Chad spent a good portion of his elementary years in Louisiana schools. I know plenty of people from Louisiana who have excelled, not only in life but in their careers. A whole lot depends on parental involvement and home life. If I had my way, Addie would be home schooled.
As far as the heat and bugs . . I’d take what Louisiana has to offer any day over what we deal with here. The humidity . . . Texas wins but we had pretty much as much humidity in Kentucky and Missouri as we had in Louisiana.
A whole lot of it is what you make of it. Bloom where you’re planted has been a motto I’ve tried to live by. Louisiana will always be home for me and the memories, friends and family there far outweigh what most other places have to offer.
Teri says
You are such a great story teller and have so much to tell…..you should look into Storyworth…..I gave this to my husband for Christmas….it is a company that sends you a question each week for 52 weeks…..you answer the questions……then at the end of the year you receive a hard bound book with your story……
Judy Laquidara says
I’ll have to look into that. Thanks!
Diannesmith04@gmail.com says
I’m packing now to go with you!!
Wanda says
Now that sounds like a great plan for all of you. Noting can ever compare to grandma’s place notbing. So but the road chick and make another grandma’s place there may Be make it look old too but modern inside.
dezertsuz says
She is certainly not upset by the bugs, is she? How much land is there? Would it be expensive to build a house there? Or set up a double-wide, maybe?
cassews says
Well there ya go ..you all move there and then Chad and his family – all living happily ever after!!
Bon says
You sure have some great memories.
cindy says
If that is where you think you and Vince would be comfortable living, then I say go for it. If you can get Chad and family there, also you are doubly blessed. And when Addy is fifteen, you might want to know what she is doing and be there to be her confidante and advisor.
Dar in MO says
I have never visited Louisiana, so I’m ready to visit you when you get settled “back home on the farm”.!! I too love the outdoors and have learned to adapt to hot, humid weather here in the St. Louis area. My hair gets frizzy at the mention of humidity, so bring it on!!
I also agree that what we are today is strongly influenced by what upbringing we had. I was raised by my grandparents on a farm in MO and I love gardening, cooking, crafts, being outside in the woods, fishing and most country life. Not a real fan of bugs, but am not afraid of them–unless I’m stung or bitten by a “real bad” one.:)