The Women of Duck Commander (16 page)

My adventurous spirit is something that has grown in me over the years. I certainly was not born with it. My sister seemed to get all the adventure genes in the family, while I was more like Chicken Little. Except for doing tricks on my pony, which some people would say takes bravery, the most adventurous thing I ever did as a child was to skip one class while others skipped a whole day of school. They thought playing hooky would be so much fun, but I was afraid to do it. While they were out having fun, I decided to hide behind the Coke machine during one class period. It was no fun at all! I was bored and scared I would get caught. Over the years, maybe from living with a man as adventurous as Phil, I have learned to look for adventure and embrace it, especially when the grandchildren are around.

Sometimes, when we have had enough adventures for a while, we play a quiet little game called the Listening Game. I say to the
children, “Close your eyes, and just
listen
.” The children sit for a few seconds and say they do not hear anything. I tell them to keep listening. Eventually the children hear different kinds of birds, frogs, squirrels, and other animals—even a woodpecker pecking on a nearby tree. By the time the game is over, they are delighted with the sounds of the outdoors.

T
HE
G
REATEST
S
TORY OF
A
LL

I love being able to spend time with my grandchildren and having fun with them. I am so thankful for the things we can do together and the good times we enjoy. I am glad they are interested in the stories I tell, but there is one story I want to make sure they know better than all the rest. It’s the story that determines everything else about their lives, the story of Jesus.

When I talk to the children about Jesus, I use a simple illustration of symbols across a page. You can see it in my own handwriting on the dedication page of this book. A downward-pointing arrow means, “Jesus came.” In other words, He gave up everything wonderful about heaven and came to live on earth, where everything is not always wonderful. He came as a regular boy and grew to be a man. The next symbol looks like a large “plus” sign, but it’s really a cross and it means, “Jesus died.” He died for all of our sins. The next symbol looks kind of like an extended letter “n,” and it represents the tomb where Jesus’ body lay for three days after His
death. The next symbol is an upward-pointing arrow, which means Jesus ascended to heaven. The final symbol is another downward-pointing arrow, representing the promise that Jesus will one day return to earth and take us back to heaven with Him if we have trusted Him as our Lord and Savior.

When my boys were little, I made sure each one knew this story as soon as he was old enough to understand it. Now I do the same with my grandchildren. Sometimes, just to reinforce the power of the story, I talk to them about Jesus’ crucifixion and say, “All those people treated Jesus so well. They took Him out to eat and bought His dinner . . .” Someone, usually Mia, quickly interrupts with, “No, Mamaw Kay! They
didn’t
! They put real nails and thorns in His hands—and thorns
hurt
.”

I like to explain to the children that no one gets buried in a tomb today, at least not where we live. As I talk about that, the children like to envision what a dark, musty tomb would have been like. When we talk about the tomb, we talk about dying and going to heaven. Then we talk about how a person’s spirit goes to heaven when he or she dies and then gets reunited with the body when Jesus comes back. And we talk about the fact that while we are living here on earth, we can talk to God any time we want, knowing He is always listening when we pray.

When Phil is around and I am reminding the children of the Gospel story, he waits for me to get to the part about Jesus’ ascending back to heaven and inserts, very intensely, “He probably went up
just like a rocket ship
!” They are fascinated by that thought. I don’t know if it was really like a rocket ship or not, but it makes a great visual for little ones. I love to talk to my grandchildren about Jesus
and to ask them questions to make sure they understand this awesome story. They do.

I am confident they know and believe the truth of the Gospel, and I am thankful they all have parents who also make a priority of telling this story in their homes and of taking the children to church so they can learn even more about God.

The grandchildren also like to hear other stories from the Bible, and I enjoy reminding them of these stories that so many generations of people, including me, grew up on. Their favorites are the ones about God’s miracles or other things that really stand out, such as Jonah and the whale or Balaam and the talking donkey. Of course, all of us Robertsons love animals, so we tell the story of Noah and the ark. I take every opportunity I have to remind the children of these stories because I want to make sure they never lose sight of everything God has done and everything God can do. I know the children understand because I sometimes hear them retelling the stories in their own words, and their versions are so sweet.

I love the innocence and faith the younger grandchildren have, and I hope they never lose it. I also love the boldness and faith the older ones are developing. They just amaze me. When they have opportunities to speak, they do not shy away from sharing their faith. They are bold about it, and I am so proud of them for standing up for what they believe.

U
SE
Y
OUR
I
MAGINATION

When I was a child, there were no such things as cell phones or electronic games. I always wanted to be outside with Tony the pony or with my circus, so I was not the type of person to sit inside and move little things around on a screen. I would not have sat in a chair texting people because I wanted to be at the store interacting personally with the people of our community. I understand how helpful technology can be, but I do not want it taking over my time with my grandchildren, so the little ones know they cannot bring their phones or latest gadgets to my house. When they’re with me, we do artsy-crafty projects, we collect interesting things from nature, and we talk about how unique they are and how God created them.

One day when we were outside, Lily caught a granddaddy longlegs. It was harmless of course, but where we live we also have black widows and brown recluses, which are
not
harmless! I asked her to let the granddaddy longlegs go, but she did not really want to. I explained that the younger children in the family were watching her and even though she knew the difference between harmless and dangerous spiders, they did not. She understood right away and did not want to set a bad example for them. That did not stop her from catching a garden snake a few weeks later, though!

I will never forget my circus and when I think about it these days, I realize being able to do that and to have some encouragement from my family in it really helped me develop my own curiosity and imagination. I try to revisit that with my granddaughters and River because I think imagination is a lost art in modern
society. Any time I can encourage the children to be creative and to use their imaginations, I do.

One of my favorite little happy things to do is to give the children prizes—not anything expensive, just something that communicates, “I was thinking of you.” Sometimes, River loses his prize while he is at my house. When I find it, I give it back to him, and he thinks it’s new. I am not sure how long that will last (at the time of this writing he is only five years old), but I am going to make the most of it while it does.

L
ICKETY
S
PLIT

Phil and I have several small buildings on our property, many of which were used for Duck Commander at one time. In one of those buildings close to our house, I made my granddaughters a little playhouse called the Lickety Split. It’s just for the girls because little girls have certain things they really like to do. It’s just precious what they are into. For example, my granddaughters like to have a play office and a place to do little performances. In 2013, I hired some decorators to improve the Lickety Split. They created a stage and place to sit, and put in a karaoke machine, a keyboard, and a microphone. They also installed a play kitchen they call a bistro. In another part of the room, there is an old dresser where the girls can do their hair and play dress-up. The ladies did a great job with it; it’s darling.

As much as I appreciated the decorators’ talents, I was most excited about the fact that once they finished their work, the girls
took over. They made it their own. They do some things the decorators might call “messing up their work,” but that’s not the case. The girls are simply creative, and like most children, they want to put their stamp on things. I was happy to help create the Lickety Split for them and do my best to make it something they can enjoy, but I was even happier to see them use their imaginations and make it even more of what they wanted it to be.

I L
OVE
T
HEM
A
LL

All of my grandchildren are a blessing. They are all different and all special. They seem to trust me, and I treasure that. I would not trade their trust for anything in this whole wide world. I enjoy them so much, and one of these days, say, when they are my age, I want them to really know and understand just how much I loved them. I hope they will always think of me as a fun grandmother who loved to laugh and as a positive influence in their lives. I want to be someone who teaches them about life and faith and about right and wrong. I want to be to them everything my grandmother was to me, and more. I’m working on it every day. I do not want them to think of me as a cranky ol’ grumbling grandmother; I like to say I want to be a sunshine grandma.

I know Korie’s grandmother, and I know Jessica’s grandmother, both lovely women. When I look at Korie and Jessica, they both have so many of the qualities I see in their grandmothers, especially their sweetness and humility. In years to come, I hope people who have known me will know my grandchildren and be able to say, “She
got that from Miss Kay,” or “He’s that way because of what Miss Kay taught him.” Most of all, I want them to grow up to be people who love and obey God, love their families, and know the difference between right and wrong. I pray I am a godly influence and a blessing in their lives, just as they are in mine.

17

A LEGACY OF LOVE

Jessica

I grew up as part of a large extended family, and a lot of our family gatherings took place at my grandparents’ house. I have such happy memories of being at their house with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. As a child, I was a tomboy, and I climbed trees and rode four-wheelers with my cousins. I also remember being so excited to get to go with my mamaw Nellie and papaw Ted (my mom’s parents) to their garden and pick vegetables. Some of my favorite times were when our entire family gathered for a big feast after church on Sundays, the same kind of large meals Miss Kay prepares for the Robertson clan today.

These memories, and the fact that I grew up around such hardworking, faith-filled, wonderful people, are part of the reason I grew up loving my family. For years, I never really thought people lived any other way. Not spending time with family was never an option for us. Now I am sad when I think about people who did not have
that kind of upbringing or children who are not able to experience the blessings of a close-knit family. Don’t get me wrong, no one is perfect and no one’s life is perfect. My family had struggles just like any other family, but we loved each other unconditionally—and unconditional love never gives up on anyone. We stood by each other, and when one member of the family felt broken, the others helped lift that one up. The same is true in the Robertson family; no one views himself or herself as better than anyone else. We all love each other and want each other to succeed.

I W
AS
M
EANT TO
B
E A
R
OBERTSON

Sometimes I think I was always destined to be a Robertson because I come from a family full of hunters and fishermen—on both sides. One of my grandfathers, Papaw Ted, worked in a chicken plant to make a living and had a hunting camp as a hobby.