When I was a little girl, one of my grandmothers was very opinionated about bras. At the time, I took everything she said as the "absolute truth." Over time, of course, I realized that what she said was not all true, and then later, I waffled back to understand she really knew what she was talking about on most things.
Anyway, when I was in fifth grade, I can remember her and my mother talking about training bras. She did not speak to me directly about this, but I used to eavesdrop on "the adults." I think they knew and used this to their advantage. Grandma thought that training bras were silly. She thought they were unnecessary. She could not understand why growing girls needed them. She never said this directly to me, and I loved her for it. You see, she knew even though it was not necessary, it had become a "right of passage," and she did not want to spoil that for me. Training bras were rare when Grandma was a little girl. Sure, Ida Rosenthal, was marketing them, but they were not popular like they are now.
Anyway, when I was a teen, I visited Grandma for a week. A week alone with my grandparents. Some time during that week, she was discussing bras. She said something about the importance of wearing bras because if you did not wear one, your breasts would stretch to your knees. For years afterwards, that conversation was attached to any thoughts of this Grandma, and I thought either she had breasts knocking her knees, or she had friends who had suffered this fate.
She also told me that if I wore slacks, I would not have to shave my legs because my hair would be pulled out by the constant contact with the slacks. When I asked if pantyhose worked in the same manner, she frowned and said that pantyhose were not strong enough to get the hair to break off. I actually tried this experiment in college, and it did not work for me.
Funny the things we remember about people who are close to us. The strangest small conversations are forever etched on our brains.
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8 comments:
My grandma used to tell me that young girls shouldn't wear black. it was a color for adults. I don't remember having a bra conversation with her.
Your leg hairs would be pulled out by the constant contact with the slacks.
That didn't work, huh?
The only day I saw my grandfather alone, he took me to Roosevelt raceway and taught me how to bet on horses. Yep, he told me the skinny on which horses to bet on judging if they took a dump as they were walking around the staging area. That was a horse that felt good, and could run faster. Also blinders, blinders on a horse meant he was not secure with his own ability, whereas a horse that didnt need them would run faster because he would see peripherally, and could run faster.
I think I was 6, and when my dad asked me what did we do, I told him we "played the ponies" which was my granddads way of saying he went and gambled. My dad didnt let me see him alone after that weekend LOL.
Great blog. In our crass society in which everything is centered around the young we have lost touch with our elders and their often quaint 'wisdom'. And see, you remember the conversation after all these years.
My grandfather once told me when I was about 13 that I must never comb my hair from the front to the back because I would go bald. He, nearly 80 at the time, pointed out that he still had a full head of hair because he parted his to the side, while his brother combed his from front to back and went bald. Hey, maybe that's true.
Ian
boss's: yeah, I actually knew a girl who did wear a bra to bed.
pitt: how wonderful.
rwa: it sort of made sense; she always wore slacks, so it must have worked for her.
larry: I have gone to racetracks, too. Did not bet, but loved to watch the horses.
ian: that is the type of wisdom I am talking about. Quant.
This brought back a lot of memories of things my grandma use to tell me too. Reasons not to shave, always carry mints in your 'pocket book'...good stuff to remember. Thanks :)
my grandma gave me my training bra AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. In front of God and everybody.
I think she just wanted to buy me one and well, it was Christmas. So why not wrap it up! more presents = better. On that same principal we used to unwrap things like measuring cups and hairbrushes.
i guess that's what they mean when we lose someone and they say "they live on in our hearts"......and funny/odd memories.
Like my memory of my grandfather always introducing me first as "my first grandchild"...and then maybe several minutes later he'd get around to telling them my name.
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