Celia’S Story Through the Eyes of Texas Grandma

By Kathryn Allen

Celias story came about after the death of her daddy. Being that Texas Grandma lost her daddy as a child also and that there was no one to tell his story, Texas Grandma gained a strong desire to write all my memories of Celia from birth to now and tell all my memories of our son so his children would at least have memories of their daddy to help keep his memory alive and real to us all. As I started, Texas Grandpa started adding his memories also.
These are memories of events and sayings from both Celia and Kyle throughout their lives. We want Celia to share this story with Asha and especially with Ephraim, since he was so small, for them at least have these words down to help him know the father who was so proud of all three of them and for them to know that we will be here for them as long as we live. The love we have for them and the love we had for our son never dies!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499071368

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Kathryn Allen.

Photography by Gloria Bishop

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 09/29/2014

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Contents

Chapter 1:   Celia’s Story through the Eyes of Texas Grandma

Chapter 2:   Memories Before You All Leave for India

Chapter 3:   The Easter before You Would Leave

Chapter 4:   Celia Across the World from Me

Chapter 5:   Another Trip to the States with Mommy

Chapter 6:   Trip Home with a Surprise Coming

Chapter 7:   Take Me to the Ball Park

Chapter 8:   Night Out to the Theater

Chapter 9:   Random Memories

Chapter 10: Outing with the McDonalds

Chapter 11: Daddy and You Working on Work Visa

Chapter 12: Baby on the Way

Chapter 13: Here Come the Grandmas

Chapter 14: Coming Down the Mountain

Chapter 15: Our Last Week in India

Chapter 16: More Random Memories

Chapter 17: Precious Memories of Kyle Spencer Allen, Our Son, Your Daddy

Chapter 18: More Memories of Our Son

Chapter 19: Kyle’s Teen and College Years

Chapter 20: Kyle’s Last Trip to the States

A Short Version of the Family Genealogy

This book is dedicated to our first granddaughter, Celia Joy Allen. You’re the first grandchild that started us down the wonderful road of being grandparents. We love you dearly more than these words can express.

This is a book to share with Asha and Ephraim, for they didn’t really get to know Daddy the way you did, and it’s my hope that you will learn more about him in this book too! This book of love is for you!

In Loving Memory of

Kyle Spencer Allen

who left us way too soon!

You were the light of our lives!

Special thanks to Texas Grandpa who helped come up with so many of our memories and looked things up for me! To others who added some memories of Kyle also, they too had to help with spelling when spell check didn’t know my words!

Chapter 1

CELIA’S STORY THROUGH THE EYES OF TEXAS GRANDMA

Celia, I was just looking through some pictures when you were born, and I thought I want to write a story for you, my grandchildren. It will be the things that Daddy would say to me, and it’s a way to keep his spirit and memory with us. Yes, Grandma will be crying as she goes through this, but it’s something I want to do for each of you, so you will be able to know how much your daddy loved you and how precious you are to me also!

Celia, you are our first grandchild, and I told this story before, but it has to go into the book because it’s a part of your story.

As you know, I lost my daddy as a child also and spent a lifetime longing for him … But I was dreaming about my dad, which is usual since I don’t dream.

Then the second night, I was dreaming again, and it was as if my dad called out my name—Kathy. I jumped out of bed, and Grandpa was getting ready for work, and I told him I’d been dreaming about my dad, and he’d just called out my name. Grandpa said, How’d you know it was your dad? I said, Because I was dreaming about him."

Well, that morning, your daddy called me and said, Mom, you’re going to be a grandma! I screamed out that was what Daddy was letting me know—I was going to get some exciting news … So one of the ladies at church told me her mom always said if you hear from the dead, you’ll hear from the living, and that’s what happened. To top it off, you were born on my dad’s birthday, September 30, 2004; so that made Grandpa and I say you were announced in a very special way!

I called Grandpa at work to let him know the news. He always said he won’t be old until he’s called Grandpa! I told him to get ready to be old, for he was going to be a grandpa! He hollered out, and the secretary wanted to know what was wrong with him! I knew he was really excited about the news just as I was.

Driving to Tennessee for your birth, Daddy kept calling to see where we were and kept saying I’m not making any time. I said I had to be, for I was exceeding the speed limit to get there. When we did arrive, we got the last room in town. I couldn’t figure out what was up with Columbia, Tennessee. That morning, we went to the store, and this guy came out in a Confederate outfit. I looked at Grandpa and said, They just won’t give it up!

Daddy and Mommy had to get to the hospital early. When we got there, I went in the room where Mommy was in labor, and she wanted to play cards. It was some cards her cousin, Lance, gave her—cards of the most wanted in the Gulf War!

She played Go Fish with Tennessee Grandma. While they played, I took pictures that some of which I do still have today! Mommy was in labor for a long time! Daddy came out once, wanting us to get him some lunch, so we did. Daddy was trying to comfort Mommy, and the nurse wrote, Husband being very caring and very supportive to his wife.

One time when Mommy needed help to the bathroom, she looked up at Daddy and said, You are very handsome. I thought, OK, that is a little different than most women in labor! Daddy came out one time to give us a report. I’m not sure if I should add this, but this is about things. Daddy said to me, It’s getting ugly in there! There was a little girl going down the hall, and she came to the waiting room and said there’s someone yelling down there. I wondered if that’s Mommy trying to go natural with you.

Oh, I remember when you finally started coming. Tennessee Grandma got excited, and I thought at one point Mommy had to put everyone in their place. But the neat thing was that Mommy and Daddy didn’t know if you were a girl or boy. No one said what gender you were, and Mommy said, What is it? OK, I’ll look. She was the one that got to announce you were a girl, and Daddy looked too and said, Yeah, that’s a girl. Daddy got to cut the cord.

Tennessee Grandma came out to tell us that you are a girl and you weighed eight pounds and eight ounces and was twenty and a half inches in length. She gave us your name, Celia Joy Allen, and I thought it was a beautiful name. Daddy got it from the side of his grandma’s family; the grandma’s name was Celia Jane. She had Daddy’s birth date of October 11. I’m not sure if that was why he picked that one, but I loved your name, Celia Joy! I will never forget the feeling that ran over me when they placed you in my arms. The love I had for you was so overwhelming, and I thought you were the most beautiful baby I ever saw! I know every grandparent thinks they have the prettiest grandchild, but I know I do! Daddy came out to tell me he would tell you that you were born on my daddy’s birthday. I’m not sure if he got to do that, but it brought tears in my eyes …

Oh, Grandpa and I got on the phones, calling our family about you. We were so excited with the joy of your birth. Tennessee Grandma asked if I would stay longer, for she had planned to go see her daddy and spend time with him. With us there helping your mommy and daddy, Tennessee Grandpa’s mom was there with him, but the sad thing was, the next day, her daddy passed away. I really felt bad for her, the joy and then the sadness. While she and Aunt Joanna went to Virginia, we stayed longer than Texas Grandpa wanted to … but that was fine with me.

You caused some trouble for Mommy who was learning to feed you, and you would not wake up till about 7:00 p.m. No matter what we tried, you wouldn’t wake up!

The first night Mommy brought you to me, she gave me some milk in a dish and dropper to feed you … That night, we slept on the couch with you on my chest. I said I got to bond with you at night so Mommy could sleep. I’m not sure when you stopped that sleeping habit, for you slept during the day the whole time we were there.

We came back in a month and took you to Indiana to see my side of the family. We were going for great grandma’s birthday, and this was the first time they got to see you. Grandma got to take you to the first pumpkin patch. It was here that we took one of my favorite family pictures.

I would continue to take you, and later your cousins, to pumpkin patches. I love my fall pictures with my fall babies!

I got to take a picture of you with my mommy and one of you and Daddy and me with her!

OK, being that this is nine years later, I think I’ve done pretty well on the memory. You just don’t forget special moments like those. I’m sure there are other things at this time that I’m forgetting, but I think I got the highlights.

Oh, I do remember the baths Daddy were giving you, and they looked so much like him when he was a baby taking his bath too. You did remind me of Daddy and Aunt Amy from nose up, but from nose down to mouth and chin and cheeks are Mommy’s!

But at different times and pictures, you would look different … which is still true today. I would see you looking like someone else in different pictures!

Oh, the next big memory I have is one when you and Daddy and Mommy came to Texas. Mommy and Daddy were always planning on their work in India. But Daddy was still working at the Atlantic Envelopes Co. in Nashville at the time. Although they still had India on their minds, there was again this time when I got to take some of my favorite pictures of you and our family. We got to take you to the zoo for the first time. You were just a baby, but you were so good. We stopped and let Mommy feed you. Other babies would be crying but not you. We went to a clothing store where I used to go to get a lot of your clothes. It’s not here anymore. It was the Chocolate Soup store, and I took a picture of you by one of their signs at the zoo. Mommy was looking for a dress for Laura and Scottie’s wedding. We found the perfect dress for it! You were then trying to start crawling but hadn’t started yet. The next thing I saw, you would be doing the funniest crawl I’ve ever seen. Others told me it’s called the bear crawl, but you could really move fast …

You and the bride’s nephew were pulled in a wagon. It was so cute; you had been asleep, and you were holding on to the side. It was so cute, and in my eyes, you stole the show. Even the photographer was taken with you also.

I have another favorite picture of you from the wedding …

We had another family picture of us at church the next day. Aunt Amy was living there, going to school at Arkansas State.

We would be coming to Jonesboro again for another wedding of one of Daddy’s friends who will marry one of Laura’s friends; I had this one wrong Mark and Amber was married three years earlier. Which is before you came along Daddy was an Usher in it. So that made a neat circle of friends . . In here we had Aunt Amy graduation and Mommy master and she was expecting with you. This time, you were walking, and I got you some new shoes and came to find out they were two left feet, so I had to take them back and got another pair of shoes to mail to you! Mommy was the one that noticed it after we got them on your feet. I do have pictures of that also. This is when Aunt Amy was moving and Daddy came to help load the truck. This delayed memory here! I should tell you, Laura and Mark were in Daddy and Mommy’s wedding …

It took a long time to get your hair to grow. I was always asking, Is her hair coming in yet? One other time, you and Mommy came. I think you were six months old. Grandpa even took some time off to play with you but not the whole week. We went downtown to his office. When we