Verla

Verla is my great aunt. She is my grandpa Tiedt's older sister. She is 88 years YOUNG. She has more energy than I do some days. She is smart. She is the BEST cook. She has lived a lot of life.

Since taking my new job in Iowa City I have lived with Verla. I have learned a lot about her life as well as some history with my family and thought I would share some of that with you all.

I told her I was going to post about her on my blog- but she doesn't know what a blog is. I'll have to show her someday I suppose. (although I don't have internet at her house so who knows when that will happen..)

The following is a list I've made while living with Verla- some fun facts I did not know or funny things she has said- every day is an adventure.... {The italics are my input}
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1. Coffee and aspirin make roses or any plants live longer. The first time I saw her pour her coffee over her plant I thought she was crazy... I asked her what she was doing and she said it's good for them! I also saw her put an aspirin tablet in the roses Tim sent her for Valentine's Day.... she said it makes them last longer. I did not know that. But some roses I got from Tim a couple weeks ago still look and smell great.....

2. Verla lived with her husband, Les, in Chicago from 1941-1945. (if I understood this right)... There were two different dance halls or ballrooms. Her and Les like to go to the Trianon Ballroom. They lived close and would go to listen to the jazz music. She said she learned how to waltz with Lawrence Welk. Him and his wife, Fern, lived close to where Les and Verla lived while in Chicago.

3. In 1945, the war ended and Les and Verla moved back home (near Sumner/Readlyn). Verla's mom, my great grandmother, had cancer. They moved home to help take care of her. "I believe God ended the war in 1945 so I could go home and take care of my mom, who had cancer."

4. "Dad always called Marv (my grandpa) "Dolly". He was just so cute and little and 4 years younger than Shorty. He is about 8 years younger than me" It has been so fun for me to hear stories about my grandpa from his older sister. I guess it's easy to forget that at some point in their lives my grandparents were my age. Verla has so many stories about Marv from when he was young and it's been so much fun to hear them and picture him at that age. It's my family history- history I would have never known about without talking to Verla.

5. "We were all the same- Me, Paul, and Marv, but "Shorty" (Elmer) was different- he was a grouch!!" There were four kids in the family- Verla, Paul, Elmer, and Marvin.


6. You should save (freeze them) all of your vegetable and fruit peels throughout the year. When you plant your garden in the spring, dig deeper than your seeds and put the peels into the soil. They will release nutrients that are very good for the soil and the plants you are trying to grow in your garden! Egg shells are especially good- full of calcium! I know NOTHING about gardening- although I think it's important to learn. Verla plants a big garden every year and cans/freezes enough food that a lot of the meals she makes she uses fresh food from her garden year round. I think it's an important and smart thing to know and I'm excited to learn with her this spring as we plant the garden!

7. More than four cups of water a day really ISN'T very good for you. A little lard in your cooking everyday IS good for you. I know this goes against everything current medicine would tell you. But she IS 88 (almost 89) years old and in pretty darn good health considering her age. Maybe we all have a lot to learn from the older generations!! :-)

8. "Your grandpa was quite the character growing up. One morning I went down into the cellar and found the whole cellar floor filled with watermelons!!! You grandpa and his friends had stolen watermelons overnight and decided to store them in our cellar!! When he came later that day I asked him if he knew anything about any watermelons and he just smiled and said, "nope!". He was always finding trouble- never any serious trouble- but enough to make me laugh and keep everyone on our toes!"

9. An excerpt from my diary:
Jan 18, 2012
Today I was off work. I slept in, which was so nice for a change! When I got up I was pleasantly surprised to the smells of home-made pancakes. Verla is giving Grandpa Tiedt a run for his money in the pancake area. They were GOOD! We had pancakes and then it was time to "get some work done". Verla is always going- never sitting- which is probably why she is 88 years old and sometimes I feel like she has more energy than I do. I had told her I would enjoy helping her with things around the house. She keeps telling me things she wants to get done so today I made a list. "Jessica and Verla's "TO-DO's". It's on the fridge and I'm afraid it's filling fast.

One of the tasks on the list was for me to give Verla a hair cut. I'm not sure how she ever got this idea in her head but she has been asking since I moved in if I could trim her hair. I told her my disclaimer was that I have NO training in cutting hair and that I was making no promises about how it would look like when I was done!

....so there we sat. Verla on her stool in the bathroom with a towel draped over her shoulders. I had my dull "sharp" scissors and a comb. I starting pretending to know what I was doing and started the trimming. I actually think it was kind of fun. We talked a lot about her past and she told me stories about grandpa. I'm going to write them all down and need to blog a post for her! After I finished cutting it I put some mousse in it and put it up in some rollers. She taught me how to put her bandanna thing over the curlers so they stayed in place.  She thought it was pretty funny that I had never used curlers before. 

After her haircut we headed downstairs to work on the basement. She has so much storage in this house! Verla put on her favorite record and I decided to start a fire. Verla has taught me how to build a fire "just right". We were going through boxes and rearranging stuff when we found a box of Lyle's things. We found Lyle's will, some of his old band books with his schedule in them- where he was going to play on what day, how much he made when he played. Verla talked the whole time about him- how much she loved him and how much fun she would have when he played with the band. She decided to burn them because she needs to "take care of this stuff". She threw them in the fire and sat down. The emotion was so high. I wish I could have taken a picture. There she sat- her rollers in her hair- watching part of her past burn. I told her the emotion were high for me- I can't imagine how she felt. It was a neat moment. I feel honored to have this time with her. She sure is a special person!

Later that night- after organizing some more we had a "high ball" and watched some Lawrence Welk. Not my style- but it felt right. We had a good day and got a lot done today. And I'm starting to wonder maybe if I chose the wrong profession- her hair didn't look all that bad!! Maybe I'll pick up a second career!! ha ha.. Until tomorrow.."

10. Verla was 23 when her mom passed away from cancer (her mom was 43). Verla's husband, Les died when Verla was 56 from a heart attack. Verla had ovarian cancer and was given 6 months to live at 77 years old. (obviously she beat it... she is so strong) Verla's second husband, Lyle died when Verla was 82. One of Verla's very best friends (and her aunt), Viera, died just two days after her husband, Lyle died. Verla's son, Bill, died in 2010- Verla was 86. We all go through life struggles and lose loved ones- but I never realize how blessed I am until I sit down and listen to the life struggles of other people. I cannot imagine losing my mom, or husband, or son... and like I said in the beginning of this post- she has lived so much life but through that life has lost so many loved ones. 
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 Verla and I have had a lot of "heart to hearts"- most of them when I don't really say anything- but she talks. And sometimes (a lot of times) we laugh, sometimes we cry, but mostly I think it's good for her to just talk. She loves to tell stories of her loved ones- of her sweet son Bill who she misses so dearly- and her very best friend Viera. Verla wouldn't want anyone to feel sorry for her- but she has been a good reminder to me that when I feel like my life isn't going the way I think it should- I still have so many blessings to count- and I have thanked her for that reminder.

Living at her house isn't always easy. I get NO cell phone reception there- I have no Internet- I have no cable TV- I'm secluded in the woods.... but honestly it's been kind of good for me. Sometimes it's nice to "unplug" and just enjoy the outdoors. I keep in touch with everyone through my land line while I'm there. :-)

To end this I will say I really do appreciate her and I am so thankful that she has given me a place to stay!! I am learning life lessons from her and stories about my family that I am grateful to know!!