Karen remembers Grandma Hampton

Grandma Hampton was famous as a cook and gardener and quilter and sewer. She was also a good housekeeper. She wrote a letter to her children and grandchildren every Sunday for years and years. She missed Aunt Robin who was a missionary in Africa and once she got to go to Ivory Coast with grandpa to visit her. That was the thrill of her life. She made me laugh a lot and she tried to make me eat lima beans. Of course, I didn’t like them. She made me a rag doll with long floppy legs that I still have. I will never sell it. She made me several quilts, including a baby quilt. I keep one of them in my room at the group home. Even though Grandma was a good Baptist who went to church every Sunday and Wednesday, she could surprise us. Once when she took us to the mountains in North Carolina for a hike and picnic, she hiked up the mountain faster than everyone else. Then when we stopped by a river, she decided to jump in and swim because it was so hot that day. She didn’t have her swimsuit, so she stripped down to her underwear and jumped in the cold water anyhow. You see what I mean about making me laugh.