A Trip Down Memory Lane...

I was in a neighborhood recently that I persuaded my mom to travel to, a neighborhood from our past. We traveled by my great-grandmother's house. My great-grandmother detested children, I was not high on her list. We traveled there frequently to cut her lawn, pick-up rhubarb, pick grapes, and fix things that had broken. I was always taken because there was no one else to watch me. I didn't really enjoy going her home. She had a little Pomeranian named, "Charo." This dog also detested children, she bit me frequently, even when I didn't pay attention to her. My great-grandmother would busy my mother, when I knew they were busy, I took my exit and went to the backyard. My great-grandmother was a green thumb. She grew a small vegetable garden, rhubarb, but the best of all, the grapes.
There was a trellis that you walked through, it was central to the backyard. On it she grew the most delicious grapes. As you passed through the trellis you could see the sunlight squeeze through the vines in long streams. There was a constant buzz of bees working quickly to gather and pollinate these juicy plantings. Hidden in the back corner of the yard was a swing. Hidden under a weeping willow, the breeze would part the curtain-like branches and beckon you to sit and watch this small corner of the world.

So I would sit and glide in the breeze and hear the buzz of the birds, the shrill of a blue jay, and the small bubble sounds of the koi pond. It was a magical place filled with sounds, smells, and sights.

Going back to this place we drove to the back alley and peered up at a yard that was not completely changed. We saw things that were different. The central theme however, was still that vine of grapes. How long have they grown there? Even after all these years they are still blooming, you can still year the work of the bees.

As we were leaving, our eyes drawing away from our memories, I saw a red cardinal take flight off of that trellis. I imagined my great-grandmother's spirit flitting to the sky.