Page 10 - Bright-As-the-Sun

4 BRIGHT AS THE SUN

We looked forward to Christmas like all
children do. We believed in Santa Claus for
many years. Once we learned the truth, we
would remove the presents that Mom hid in
the closet, carefully unwrap them early, and
reapply Scotch tape secretively.
At Christmas, Mom and Dad would
cook at our house. Both sides of the family
would gather together there. My dad was an
only child, but my mom had sisters whose
families would join us along with both sets
of grandparents.
Our maternal grandparents were Len-
nis “Coon” Faulk and Ella Broussard Faulk,
who lived in Lafayette on Goldman Street.
Every Sunday, my entire Mom’s side of the
Paula 1971
family would go to dinner at their house. In to-
tal, our group numbered nine grandkids, three daughters, and three son-
in-laws. Paula, our cousins, and I would play outside. Sometimes Paula
and I would crawl behind our grandpa’s recliner and snatch his beer. We
would mischievously take a few swigs, and no one would notice.
On those Sundays, my grandmother would cook great meals of
rice and gravy, but she was frugal. She would make three cups of rice
for twenty people to eat. Every Sunday, Mom would make extra rice to
take along because Maw-Maw Ella never cooked enough. Paula carried
on our grandma’s tradition of never cooking enough rice for the num-
ber of people dining.
Our dad’s mother, Solange Broussard, cooked for us every Satur-
day. She and our grandfather Paul Broussard lived in Erath. My family
would go to visit about twice a week including Saturday night dinners.
She cooked with a lot of grease. One savory, non-greasy dish she made
was pancakes. When Paula and I slept over, we’d wake up to a steam-
ing plate of silver-dollar pancakes. One odd thing about Maw-Maw
Solange was her habit of saving and rolling dimes. She would discard
pennies, nickels, and quarters, but collect dimes, roll them in paper
rolls, and cash them in at the bank. We would roll dimes with her.