For New Years in 2005 Erik talked me into coming to Washington for a visit. At that time Alan was 2 and Kayla was 8 months old. We got to spend a few days at grandmas house. She hadn't had any grand babies visit yet and was so excited to have one visit. The first night we were there she asked to give Kayla a bath in her kitchen sink. After all that was the reason she put the sink in. She smiled the whole time and took several pictures and hung 3 of them in her kitchen. She was so proud of this moment that anyone who came to that kitchen heard this wounderful story.
The summer before my freshman year in high school, my sisters (Tabitha and Tiffany) and I were lucky enough to take a road trip to Northern California. We had never been before, but what made it extra special was we were going to attend Laura's aquatics camp for a week. Both Grandmas embarked on the trip of a lifetime with the 3 T's in tow. The five of us drove up the coast and we became the camp attendees that had travelled the longest distance. Grandma and Grandma took to the town to shop and enjoy good food! The final camp day both Grandma's came as usual to pick us up. They became chatty with the other parents and expressed they were proud Gramdmothers to the 3 T's! When asked what side they were from Grandma Harriette responded, "The father's side." Then they turned to Grandma Flo and she chuckled and said, "Now we'r really going to confuse you, we're both the father's side!" I was lucky enough to talk about this with Grandma when I visited her last month. I asked her if it was hard to be friends with her husbands ex-wife all those years, and she very quickly responded "Oh yeah!" Then she told me that when I was younger and we were on one of our many trips aorund the state I had said that Grandma Harriette should come with next time. She said that she had never considered it, but being the amazing woman she was she slowly worked up to that very idea! It started with annual dinners at Hometown Buffet the night before Thanksgiving, the 3 T's got dessert before dinner here, then turned into a real friendship between two women who showed me the value of acceptance, forgiveness, and humility. I will cherish the Northern California trip as well as the life lesson for eternity! <3
Flo grew up at 1733 Clinton Street in Los Angeles, CA.
She had many good memories from that home, loved that it was right next to Echo Park and had many funny stories to share.
During WWII - while her dad was serving in the Navy, she and her neighbor partner (another 11-12 year old girl) took it upon themselves to help look for potential enemy spies. They had narrowed their search to one specific female neighbor who was a pretty grumpy old lady. Her attitude was all the proof they needed to be suspicious, now they needed to prove she was a spy. They would occasionally 'borrow' some of her mail, open it to look for proof, and then return it. Apparently the 'spy' was pretty deep undercover because Flo and her partner were unable to crack the case.
