Yes, it does seem boobs are a theme around here but it’s inevitable when you’ve grown up in a boob obsessed family. My grandfather was the grand boob-a (get it! Pooh-ba…….boob-ba…….) All through the 70’s, Dolly Parton greeted you at the door of his workshop. Even though I hadn’t grown to full height, I was quite sure that those glossy boobs were about eye level for a tall man. Hmmmm. It did give me something to look up to. Or shelter if a pipe burst.
As my mom’s blog mentioned (http://savanvleck.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/things-i-miss-by-clicking/), Grampa had a love affair with televisions. After his retirement, many of us were convinced he felt remote controls were an adult toy. At the push of a button you could summon boobs of all shapes and sizes. If boobs moved off the screen you need only to click to a new channel and another pair was waiting to entertain. I remember visiting one day and wondering why he was watching a program aired in Spanish until I realized boobs suffer no language barrier.
While Grampa was dedicating his life to freeing boobs from bondage, Gramma was spending hers trying to make them illegal. Everyone watching the battle of the boobs sympathized to some degree with both sides I believe. After all, when two polar opposites dig in their heels, the tassles are bound to fly. The situation was made all the more ironic when, due to medical reasons, Gramma ended up with more than one set of boobs. For Grampa it must have been like visiting Ben and Jerry’s and being told you were allergic to Chunky Monkey. Sweet revenge. Gramma now had eight boobs and Grampa wasn’t touching any of them.
Now in another twist of neurosis, Gramma was concerned she would be called to meet her maker and the family would fight over her posessions. Since editing a will on a daily basis is inconvenient, she reserved coveted items by placing post-it notes with names of their next owners on the them. (I learned this trick real early and would scan the room when I first arrived tagging things like a male dog at a campground.)
When my mother, grandmother, and I get together we tend to get a tad giggly. Grampa had chastized us for such outrageous behavior more than once. (It appears boob watching is less enjoyable if women are laughing behind your chair.) One visit our giggly conversation turned to Gramma’s spare boobs and the matter of inheritance.
Now for those of you who did not grow up during the Great Boob Wars, you may be surprised to find out that medical boobs come in many shapes, sizes, materials, and weights. Good dress boobs can cost upwards of $1000! (a pair, not each)
Since we were already giddy, and it was really irritating Grampa, Gramma helped the conversation along by retrieving her boob collection from its hiding place. What ensued was akin to a booberware party. We shook, jiggled, passed, and assessed the qualities of the various pairs while laughing until we cried. Three generations of women making such statements as, “What if I want to borrow the dress boobs on the same night you do? Should we draw bra straps to decide or do we each get one? (Which reminds me of the bag of bra straps Gramma gave me one year because she was sure I could use them in a craft for my Cub Scouts. NOT KIDDING) In the end, I believe my mother won inheritance rights to the boob collection on the condition that I then get them after her. I do have to wonder though if the post-it notes with mom’s name on them are visible through a pink sparkly evening gown.
While I have many many treasured memories of laughing with my mom and grandmother, I believe I may be the only one who can claim to have, as one of my favorite memories, the night we all fondled Gramma’s boobs.
Tags: boobs, grandparents, humor
July 5, 2008 at 2:50 pm |
Well, this is certainly unique in the way of family memories.
For once, I really can’t think of anything to say!
July 5, 2008 at 5:10 pm |
I truly understand! And amazingly, each generation of my family has stories that are just as unique. Never fear, it seems to be hereditary, not contagious.
July 5, 2008 at 6:15 pm |
I verify, this is indeed our family. And, by the way, to clarify. Mom’s surgery was not a case of an inept physician. She didn’t really have eight sets of boobs on her chest. They were now all in her drawers and yet the lady seems to like stuffing her bra with kleenex.
When, I was young, and our home not finished, there was a curtain on the bathroom door. TV was always on and it was just a long hallway through the kitchen to see the tv in the frontroom. Dad would be in the bathroom and hear some “big Boobed” woman on tv and practically fall off the thrown to get a look out that curtain.
And, yes, my daughter has left her mark on anything of value in the family. Often, a new family member, by marriage, will just shake their heads at the “I get that, when you die” family we live in.
July 5, 2008 at 6:16 pm |
Okay, just because I know my daughter, and her friends. I have to add.
The eight boobs were in her DRESSER drawers.
July 6, 2008 at 7:39 pm |
Good save mom since I DID catch that!
July 7, 2008 at 11:29 pm |
This had me in stitches and you are right, I know I certainly can’t claim to have fondled Gram’s boobs. I am really surprised she let you touch them though or did you go through thorough hand sanitizing first?
July 8, 2008 at 6:00 pm |
Now that I think of it, you’re right! I couldn’t even touch the bedspread growing up. Maybe the boobs were easier to run through the dishwasher.
July 8, 2008 at 11:24 pm |
Mentioning Grandpa’s obsession with boobs made me think of the “Dolly Parton” boob cookie my mom & dad gave him for Christmas one year. I think I have a pic of that even! LOL
July 22, 2008 at 7:36 am |
Gram now claims she never had that many boobs. She changed the topic of conversation after the third description, I gave her, of boobs. She’s getting good at that changing the topic thing.
March 26, 2009 at 10:05 pm |
Oh my gosh, this is so hilarious! I can’t say that I’ve ever fondled my gma’s boobs, but I’m secretly glad to know that my family isn’t the only “nonconforming” one out there! Darrell’s gonna get such a kick out of reading this!
April 21, 2009 at 2:22 am |
My family takes non-conforming to a whole new level!