Grandma Didn’t Take Any Guff

My grandma, Hattie Byer was never a tall woman. I like to say that she was 5 feet…in her tall days, because most of us remember her as being more like 4 foot 10 inches, give or take an inch. Don’t let her short stature fool you, however, because my grandma was a capable woman in every way, especially in the handling of children. She raised nine of her own, and the grandchildren were no match for her either. It wasn’t that Grandma was mean, but rather that Grandma didn’t take any “guff” from the kids. I can attest to that, because I made the mistake of going up against her once. Yes, I said once. After that, I decided that going up against Grandma wasn’t in my best interest, hahahaha!!

Whenever one of her kids got out of line, Grandma was very likely to turn them over her knee. Everyone’s views on spanking children are different, but in those days, everyone spanked their kids. My personal opinion on that matter is that in the days of spanking your kids, the children were much more well behaved, but that is my opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Grandma was one who believed in spanking too, and I’m pretty sure the boys might have been a little more mischievous than the girls, with the possible exception of my mom, who was right in the middle of the two boys, and very loyal to both of them. Mom made the mistake of voicing her displeasure to her mom once concerning the spanking of her brother. Grandma let her go on, while she finished the spanking, and when both of the kids started to run outside, Grandma grabbed my mom by the hair, and proceed to give her a spanking to, for “improperly interfering with the discipline of her brother.” I think Mom got the message…loud and clear, and I don’t believe she ever did that again.

Grandma was well able to handle her adult kids too, as my Aunt Bonnie found out one time, when she mistakenly told her mom that she couldn’t spank her these days. Well, Grandma quickly reached out, and grabbed Aunt Bonnie by the feet, taking her swiftly to the floor. While she didn’t turn Aunt Bonnie over her knee, I think they both knew that she probably could have. Aunt Bonnie sat there on the floor with a shocked look on her face, and after the shock wore off, everyone in the room laughed hysterically, including Aunt Bonnie. Grandma never lost her touch. Today is the 114th anniversary of my grandmother’s birth. Happy birthday in Heaven, Grandma Byer. We love and miss you very much.