By Ashlie Miller

For those of us who lived close enough to spend a week or two with grandparents during the summer, the season is a time for being spoiled. But I wonder if you were spoiled the same way I was.

I remember very hot summers at my grandparents’ house on Sam Wilson Road in west Charlotte. The Price Is Right would be our morning TV time. Then, Grandmother would prepare lunch while her soaps or WBTV news was on the screen. Afterwards, my younger brother and I would find something to occupy ourselves with. Oddly, that rarely involved toys. We might venture off to the screened-in porch to hide under a table during a summer thunderstorm. I can smell that Southern summer rain scent even now. You know, the kind that comes after one of our hot, dry spells?

Evenings meant a good, straight-from-the-garden meal with Grandmother’s signature thin biscuits, which I still have not perfectly replicated. Tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden would make an appearance, and usually some good fried okra. If we were fortunate, a bird’s nest of mashed potatoes and peas would grace our plate. But chicken and dumplings were the real star of the show for me.

Speaking of the garden, there was always time to snap peas or shuck corn. I do not recall complaining about how hot it was when we did these things. Maybe because soon after, there would be a refreshing watermelon (spitting those black seeds or scraping them out with a dull knife was an art form) or some of their homemade ice cream. I am still not sure if I liked the peach or the strawberry best. Or maybe it was banana? 

Sometimes, Granddaddy or Uncle Bill would bring the biggest bag of buttered popcorn we had ever seen. Would we be able to finish it before we went back home?

At some point in the day, Granddaddy (or even Grandmother!) would pitch a ball to a little tomboy or her brother to smack into the yard. Sometimes we would play rolly bat – a game that I only remember playing with my grandparents and cousins. It was my Granddaddy who taught me to ride my bicycle a summer after my father died. Other entertainment would include rides in an oversized wheelbarrow. My brother and I always thought that was the best ride anyone could dream up. Did any other kids have such adventures?

My grandparents spoiled us, not by taking us to places that centered around us, nor buying things to occupy our time, or even in letting us choose what shows to watch. They spoiled us for anything else matching or exceeding those memories. The best we can do now is try to recreate something as special as that. Excuse me, I’m off to help my daughter make dumplings for lunch.

Ashlie Miller spent many early summers in Charlotte, NC. She and her husband raised their family in Rowan County and currently Cabarrus County. You may email her at mrs.ashliemiller@gmail.com.