Spring Nostalgia...

Okay, first of all Fort Wayne Indiana,currently feels like the dead of summer. Recently it has been 85-90 degrees and humid. More like July than the end of May. The spring though brings back so many memories and so I thought I would share one that is on the fringe of my memory.

It is a beautiful warm morning. My parents have just driven away from hills that create the backdrop of Northeastern Pennsylvania, back to Indiana and I look at the man that I am going to spend an entire week following around. I wonder if we will make it, I wonder if my cousins will come and rescue me? He looks at me and says, "let's get you settled in." My grandfather walks me up the path followed by a furry, energetic, and loyal friend with a white tail. Taffy, a small dog, but as loyal as a dog can be. I enter the house of my grandfather's and my step-grandmother is there to greet me, "Sarah, so glad you are here for a visit! Would you like a brownie?" Would I like a brownie? This is like asking if the sun is bright or if birds can fly. These brownies fill the entire house, their aroma draws you to them and makes you want to sit for a spell and share your darkest secrets. Do I want a brownie?
For the next several days we relax into a routine. We rise early and eat breakfast at the round kitchen table with the 1950's cotton tablecloth. I run my finger over the crease from where it was folded after being hung out on the line. I eat my shredded wheat while my grandfather pours over the morning paper and mentions tidbits to his wife over their morning coffee. We run errands, go shopping, or piddle in the garage fixing "things." My favorite morning of all, the day my visit was arranged for, is the day we plant my grandfather's garden. I follow him around like a shadow, asking questions, taking orders, and getting dirty. I wear a burlap bag that he has fashioned for me to carry this year's onion crop. He walks along the rows while I put each onion bulb in the dirt and then press them down. With each bulb I make a wish and ponder about what they will become. This is the dirtiest, smelliest, and most delightful work I have ever done. This is a day that has not past idly by, I have worked and toiled and created a forever memory.