Sentimental Summer

On Wednesday night my sister and I, and our kids, fixed dinner for and ate dinner with my Grandpa. We had tin foil dinners. They were delish. My grandpa was excited because he said he hadn't had a tin foil dinner in forever. He ate two.

After dinner we cleaned up, played with the kids and I watered the flowers. I did okay in the front yard because my watering time was also spent yelling at that crazy Chick to get out of the flowers. I was doing just great until my grandpa came outside. He sat on his red chair on the porch.

The other red chair was empty. I made it a few minutes before I was overcome with emotion over that empty red chair but then excused myself to go to the back yard and finish watering the flowers. When I got to the area of the back yard with this goofy garden gnome (alliteration at it's best!) I totally lost it.

I started to cry. It was one of those moments where last summer, she would have been outside on the deck talking to me while I watered. This year, I was out there all by myself.

My grandma's roses are beautiful. My mom and her sisters have been working on them and last week was a big effort to clean up the yard and get it grandma ready. She may not be there in person, but I'm sure she's looking down from heaven and is willing the yard to be just how she'd want it.

This is the backyard of my childhood. This is the swimming pool of my childhood. Oh, how I love this place. I loved being there with my sister and eating dinner with my grandpa. I've said it many times, how hard it is to keep moving forward but we have to do it. There is no choice. But keeping the backyard neat and tidy and beautiful, just how grandma always did keeps her memory alive and her spirit close by.