Memories

Memories cloud my mind all day. I find myself trying to remember everything. However, I am afraid that I have forgotten more than I have remembered.

Today the memories of my maternal grandparents are bubbling over and I cannot contain them. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of them, and there are a few things that I hope I never forget.

• My grandma rolling out dough to make noodles on the back porch.
• My grandma's African violets growing on the other side of the house.
• My grandpa sitting in his shop working on his airplanes made out of aluminum cans.
• The smell of their house in the summer time.
• The way my skin looked under the lights in the kitchen as we played cards into the wee hours of the night.
• My grandpa telling me to NEVER change horses in the middle of the stream.
• My grandma's hands as they used a paring knife to cut up an apple for me.
• Watching my grandma hang clothes on the line as I handed her the clothespins.
• Listening to my grandpa snore in his chair as he watched the baseball game and then say, "I was watching that!" when you tried to turn the channel.
• Eating soup every day for lunch during the summertime because that is all my grandpa knew how to cook and grandma was working at Bonanza.
• Getting up at 5:00am to go to work with my grandma at Bonanza after my grandpa retired.
• My grandpa coming home before he retired and giving me a "spanking".
• Grandpa mopping the floor to surprise grandma when she got home from work.
• My grandpa teaching me how to "fight".
• Always feeling loved and welcome as soon as I turned down their street.
• Both of them teaching me about love and life.

My grandparents were married for about 60 years before my grandma passed away. I remember when we got to the house after grandma died and he was sitting in the kitchen at the table crying. I had never seen this man who was a giant in many ways, cry. Even when I think about it now it makes me want to break down. He was never the same after she passed away. Then eighteen months later on my grandma's birthday my grandpa passed away. The two of them made me who I am today. Their forgiveness showed me how to forgive. Their faithfulness showed me how to be faithful. But most of all, their love showed me I am loved.

This post is dedicated to the memories of my grandparents, Collis and Ruth Harris. I love you both and can't wait to see you again.