Where Are You From?

For the "I’ve Been Meaning to Ask" series this summer, our Monday Meditations will be written by various members of the St. Peter’s community. 

This week, Chrissy Searcy answers the question "Where are you from?"

I grew up in a small steel town in Illinois near St. Louis. My grandparents lived nearby, and I spent a lot of time with them.  As a child, my sister and I loved when Grandma Helen would babysit.  We would make up plays and skits, and she was the perfect audience. When I would spend the night, Grandma taught me how to say the Rosary which we would say before bed.  She even taught me how to say some of the prayers in Polish. She was quite the card shark and taught me how to play rummy and even pinochle. I often volunteered to help her make pierogi for Good Friday dinner.  Our family’s recipe was meatless making it the perfect Lenten meal.  The ingredients are simply egg, flour, salt, and cheese, but these Polish noodles were considered golden delicacies to our family members.  When I was in high school, I would clean my grandma’s house on Saturday mornings.  She was meticulous about how she wanted her tiny house cleaned, but she always directed me in a kind and loving way.  When I was done, she paid me $2 and insisted that I took the money.  Honestly, I just wanted to spend time with her, even if it was while I was vacuuming in very straight rows.  She was always the best listener and made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. 

My Grandma Helen had never been on an airplane, or gone to college, but she was the wisest person I knew.  Our days together were simple – cooking, playing cards, cleaning, singing, and talking.  She didn’t take me on fancy trips to Disney World, and she didn’t spend tons of money on gifts, but she offered me the most treasured gifts of her time and her patience.  Grandma patiently took the time to teach me to roll the pierogi dough thin enough when it would have been so much easier to just do it herself.  By listening intently to my boyfriend dramas, she taught me that I was important and worthy of her attention.