An "I remember" kind of day...

Today, my family gathered at my 82 year old grandmother's home to do an extreme makeover. My grandmother lives in the city. She lives directly in front of a creek, in the city. Yet, her home is deemed a natural wildlife preserve. As astonishing as that sounds, it's true. She has every variety of plant and flower you could dream of, and she knows them intimately. My grandmother is also an active member of the Audubon Society. My children today watched a variety of birds fly in and out of her yard while she named them all. Here are the sounds I heard as the little children, cousins, second cousins, and even aunts and uncles worked in her yard:
"oh, look there is the cardinal, that is the state bird." -Grandma
"What kind of bird is that that made a nest in there?" -My Husband
"It's a Jenny Wren, grandma said!" -My youngest daughter
"Be careful of that tree! It is the tulip tree, our state tree!" -Grandma
"Is that poison-ivy?" -my mother
"Why do they call the weeping willow that?" -My oldest daughter
"Quiet now, can you hear the mother Wren talking to her babies?" -Grandma
"Aughhh, can you see the little babies? They are so cute!" -All looking inside the birdhouse.

My family is big, my grandmother raised 7 children and then her brother's son, so actually 8. I can not remember my grandmother being married. She has always been on her own. She is getting slower physically but her spirit is unyielding. I have the greatest honor of truly knowing her. Today we spruced up her beloved yard. We mulched, and trimmed. We planted, and raked. It was hard, dirty, but fulfilling work. My children played with their distant cousins, and connected with all the world around them. Today felt safe. Today I felt like I was inside the inner circle of life. It was all going on around me. It was an "I remember..." kind of day.