Kyle and I have recently decided to buy my grandparents house and call it our own. I was going through documents to better organize my computer recently, and found this from when I first moved in to the house.
Grandma, Grandpa,
A tear or two
As I walk through your house
There is the living room
Where Joey, Dylan and I
watched so many Disney movies it is hard to remember them all
Where Joey ate so many Nacho
Doritos it drove our mother crazy
Where we opened one Christmas
present every Christmas Eve
Where my last memory of Uncle
Ray took place. He gave me a Husky stuffed animal for Christmas.
Where my Uncle Gordon checked
my eyes, or my ears, because I didn't feel well, then patted me on the head and
said “You’re good to go Toad.”
Where the T.V. sat.
Where Grandma watched her soap
operas. Every day. Without fail. While folding laundry.
Where Grandpa sat in his
chair. Where he immediately rose from. To fulfill whatever wish Grandma gave
him.
Where the baby grand piano
stood, with Grandpa's picture on the wall beside it, handsome and pilot-esc.
Where the baby grand stood that
Grandma's fingertips so elegantly touched, where Daddy's, and Joeys, and now
Andy's fingertips touched.
Where we flung legos and
giggled at the Disney shows Grandma recorded for us.
Where I now think of you
as I tare the drapes you so carefully chose from the wall.
Where Daddy rips carpet
we played on as children, under which we found carpet he played on as a child.
Where that mirror on the
east wall sits ever present. A mirror that saw it all. You and Grandpa kissing.
Daddy taking Mom on a date. Your 3 sons arguing over politics and things they
were too knowledgeable about for their own good. Grandpa watching his sports.
You watching your soaps. Your grandchildren raiding your candy bowl. Your
grandchildren dancing the nights away to that song, Audra, do you remember the title? Opening presents next to your
flocked Christmas Tree. Full bellies after incredible Thanksgiving
dinners.
There is a hallway leading to three rooms...
Where I stood at the sliding
door, smelling pancakes, homemade bread, and coffee.
Where a dark brown candy bowl
sat in a hall way closet, filled with Snickers, Three Muskateers, Reese's
Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey Chocolate Bars, etc.
Where your bedroom sat.
Quiet and perfect.
Where your bathroom sat,
a treacherous sliding door awaiting four year old fingers that couldn't twist
the lock and hollered out, sure we were trapped.
Where Daddy's old room
sat, his memories bursting from it's walls
There is a basement.....
Where Dylan and I slept as
kids, on the the pull out bed
Where Dylan pretended to be
asleep, while steam rolling me and flailing his arms around in such a way that
I was smacked in the head every couple minutes.
Where cousin Audra slept, and
played Atari/Nintendo with us
Where cousin Audra taught me
how to shuffle cards, including instructions on how to achieve the ultimate
trick, the bridge
Where the laundry room scared
me so much I had to run as I walked by it.
There is a garage....
Where the Buick sat
Where we pulled the
Buick from to go on adventures to "The Base" (Hill Air Force
Base)
Where there sat an old
green fridge that held all of our greatest desires when it came to soda or ice
cream.
And finally, there is a kitchen. Your place,
Grandma, the one I remember the most vivd details of you.
Where you baked fresh,
homemade bread.
Where you made pancakes
Where there was never a lack
of homemade, to die for, delicious, food, where you never stopped, where you
could never fall short, where you loved us the best way you knew how, good
food, good smells, good auras.
Where there was banana cream
pie
Where there was pumpkin pie,
cream puffs, spaghetti sauce, cheese bread, garlic bread, stroganoff, that
garlic salad I had five helpings of, toffee, ginger snaps, and every single
thing that may or may not have tasted "rancid" to you
Where you pulled out a string
of spaghetti and insisted I taste it, every time.
Where you saved just enough to
give to the good ol' cocker spaniel Toby, because you loved him, no matter how
fat he got.
Where you drank coffee out of
those brown patterned cups, and we, Mom, Dad, Joe, Dylan, Andy, Uncle Gordon,
Uncle Ray, Kathy, Greg, Bobby, Sophia, Audra and soon little Casie and Haylee
ate meals on decorative pates, on peach colored, ruffled table clothes, next to
flowered drapes...
Grandma, Grandpa
I am quiet when I walk through
your house alone
I am quiet as I taste, smell,
and feel each memory you left me.
Grandma, Grandpa
No matter how many drapes I pull from these walls,
no matter how many pieces of carpet I send to the dump, you're still here,
and I am so relieved.
Relieved I can still smell
your spices when I open cabinets in the kitchen.
Relieved I can still see your
spaghetti boiling when I use the stovetop
Relieved I can still smell
your homemade bread every time I use the toaster oven, sitting in the exact
spot yours sat.
Grandma, Grandpa,
Don't ever go away. Please promise you and Grandpa
will stay. I'm not sure how long I have with you both.
It is just for a moment, that
I get to sense you here, that I am able to feel you with me on the back patio.
Every weed I pull, is for you.
Every wall I paint, is for
you.
Every cupboard I clean, is for
you.
But mostly, every cookie I
bake, is for you.
Every bowl of pasta I boil, is
for you.
Every piece of toffee I brake,
is for you.
Grandma, as I walk through your house
I remember you.
And Grandpa.
The most adorable, most precious love story every.
Let's not forget the best words of advice, words we will never forget: Grandpa's ultimate words of wisdom.
"Take care of your mother."
Grandma, I miss you. Grandpa, I miss you.
Lucky for me, you are everywhere I look, and I
treasure every moment I get to feel close to you. I love you.
