Grandma

As I look through my 6 year old eyes...

I remember a place...a place of tranquility...

A place of growth and simple questions being answered...

There are...There is a lush green grass in a giant yard.  The grass is well kept, but it doesn't quite keep the dandelions from growing.

To the north - well I never really considered the direction until now - to the BACK of the yard...were the beautiful "WOODS".

The "Woods" was/were a seemingly enchanted forest complete with a large stream called a creek and a perfectly laid path from old train tracks that were no longer there.

The giant old oak tree in the back yard had a tire swing, and oh, the tire swing....it was such a source of many childhood memories.  I can simply just look back to the tire swing and get a little caught up in the moment...
I see the old oak tree and the tire swing.  It's there, beautiful, and part of a time and place before of sue-happy parents.

If you went about 100 yards into the "Woods", you would see a pole with a concrete base.  This, in our ever inquiring and developed minds, had to be the work of UFO's.  In retrospect, it was simply a metal pole that was anchored down with concrete, pulled out of the ground. However, our overactive creativity had full reign.

I remember Paul Harvey.  I remember the hamburger, carrots, and various other vegetables wrapped in aluminum foil and being blown away by the ending "feast".I remember....so much...I can see it, in my 6 year old eyes.

The garage doubled as a furniture upholstery business - a fledgling one at that.  Childhood is not privy to such details - and even if it was, forts and exploring were more important.

I ran through the yard.  I explored the Woods.  I lived this.  I can see everything in my mind right now. It hurts...in some ways because I feel like it's a chapter with an end, and I hate finality.

I picked Dandelions for my Grandma thinking they were beautiful flowers.  She never let me know they were weeds.  I brought them inside and she was always so impressed and had a vase ready for me.  I could've been a grown man and she would've never told me that this was an inappropriate gift.


The doctor looked at my Grandma's charts and told us that she has a an irregularly large heart.

We know.  And we love her for it.