Grounds In Grandpa's Coffee

How well I remember the visits to grandma's house when I was a little girl. Luckily I had both sets of grandparents and loved them equally. They actually carried on a conversation with me! None of that baby talk I heard from others, or the cooing and "oh, isn't she just too sweet." My grandmas and I had secrets no one else even suspected. They would let me gather eggs by myself and feed the chickens. All Grandma did was stand in the back door, screen held open, and smile. I felt almost as big as my older cousins, as I scattered the feed around the chicken yard!
I watched both of my grandmas as they prepared red eye gravy for Grandpa's breakfast. Each grandpa would swish a big fluffy homemade biscuit around to gather up the last bit of what was left on his plate. Grandpa always sat at the head of the table, ate out of the same plate and drank his morning coffee out of the same giant mug. Coffee grounds swimming on the top were downed with the rest of the coffee. He always told me "It isn't real coffee unless it has grounds in it."
To this day, I occasionally put water and coffee in a pot to boil, then let most of the grounds settle and pour off the dark liquid to relive those days when I drank coffee at my grandparents. My mom and dad said I was too young to drink coffee, but not Grandma and Grandpa! I knew my mom had been fed a spoonful of coffee at just a few days of age.
For some reason, I always felt so important when I was there. I always got the corner biscuits, which I loved because they had two crunchy sides. Sometimes, at home my brothers got them first so it was a real treat for me. The only time that was not totally pleasant was the time it took to go to sleep after grandma and I were in our gowns and in bed for the night. It would have been okay even then, but I became so stiff from trying not to move, I could hardly stand it. I thought I had to be just like Gran and I swear when she laid down in bed, she never moved!! I wanted to be just like her so I laid as still as I could for as long as I could till I thought I would surely die if I didn't move just a little! In my own bed at home I tossed, turned, changed positions every 3 minutes till I wore myself out and went to sleep. I had to make Grandma proud and if she didn't move, I wasn't moving. My little mind whirled with these thoughts till without realizing it, I fell asleep!
Most grandparents have that knack for making little ones feel so very special, because it so happens they are very special, especially through the eyes of their grandparents.