My mother's mother was born on March 15, 1904 and lived a long and fulfilled life in Mobile. She was a gardener, a learner, meticulously dressed and proper, a strong woman whom, as you can see from this photo, my mother loved very much. I stayed in her home a few times while visiting in Mobile when I was child. It was amazingly organized and neat compared to the sometimes hectic home we had back in Virginia with so many children preventing my mother from maintaining a lot of routine and order. Mimi kept delicious chocolate covered marshmallow and graham cracker cookies in her perfectly maintained pantry. Have I mentioned that I remember most of the events of my life by what food I ate there?! I got to sleep on the screened in porch, with the white wicker furniture and the glass louvred windows, on one visit and in the big tall bed on another. It was in her backyard, on her brick walkway, that I saw my first "rolly-polly" bug which I thought was absolutely adorable and amazing. I still associate the smell of fresh coffee with my grandmother because of the coffee brewing in the kitchen on just those few visits. And, oh, I was shocked and delighted to see that Mimi watched soap operas. My mother would never have allowed such scandalous behavior! But, Mimi would just pooh-pooh that attitude and do as she pleased! When she passed away, my mother was upset for a long time and I regret now that I was not more attentive to my mother's grief. Although my mother and I talked about it, I didn't really understand because I had yet to experience losing my mother. I'm glad that my mother was able to be close to Mimi after she and my dad moved to Mobile. And I'm glad that one of the last things my mom and I did, before she got sick, was drive around Mobile, talking about their lives there, mom's family and childhood friends, Namama, The Visitation, visiting the cemetary and talking about family members who were buried there, looking at, and photographing, the homes on Hunter Avenue and Cherokee St., in which Mimi and Daddy Jim raised their two daughters, eating lunch at The Battlehouse and talking about the events that had taken place there years before. That was a special day and we felt Mimi's presence. So, here's to Mamie Clarke Maury, on her birthday.
My mother's mother was born on March 15, 1904 and lived a long and fulfilled life in Mobile. She was a gardener, a learner, meticulously dressed and proper, a strong woman whom, as you can see from this photo, my mother loved very much. I stayed in her home a few times while visiting in Mobile when I was child. It was amazingly organized and neat compared to the sometimes hectic home we had back in Virginia with so many children preventing my mother from maintaining a lot of routine and order. Mimi kept delicious chocolate covered marshmallow and graham cracker cookies in her perfectly maintained pantry. Have I mentioned that I remember most of the events of my life by what food I ate there?! I got to sleep on the screened in porch, with the white wicker furniture and the glass louvred windows, on one visit and in the big tall bed on another. It was in her backyard, on her brick walkway, that I saw my first "rolly-polly" bug which I thought was absolutely adorable and amazing. I still associate the smell of fresh coffee with my grandmother because of the coffee brewing in the kitchen on just those few visits. And, oh, I was shocked and delighted to see that Mimi watched soap operas. My mother would never have allowed such scandalous behavior! But, Mimi would just pooh-pooh that attitude and do as she pleased! When she passed away, my mother was upset for a long time and I regret now that I was not more attentive to my mother's grief. Although my mother and I talked about it, I didn't really understand because I had yet to experience losing my mother. I'm glad that my mother was able to be close to Mimi after she and my dad moved to Mobile. And I'm glad that one of the last things my mom and I did, before she got sick, was drive around Mobile, talking about their lives there, mom's family and childhood friends, Namama, The Visitation, visiting the cemetary and talking about family members who were buried there, looking at, and photographing, the homes on Hunter Avenue and Cherokee St., in which Mimi and Daddy Jim raised their two daughters, eating lunch at The Battlehouse and talking about the events that had taken place there years before. That was a special day and we felt Mimi's presence. So, here's to Mamie Clarke Maury, on her birthday. 
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