The Big, Red Porch

I went to visit my Grandparents this weekend. It was a warm and happy weekend. But, when it was over and I was driving home I started to feel sad. Sad because I don't see them as much as I want. As much as I should. Sad because they are getting older which means time is becoming a minimum with them. My Grandpa had made me a rocking chair and he surprised me with it when I was there. I love it. I love it because he made it for me.
When I was a little girl we spent many, many weekends in the summer with my Grandparents at their cottage near the lake. I used to get up at the crack of dawn and my Grandpa would always be the one to get up with me. I would sit on his lap out on their big, red porch in the peaceful early morning. We would watch and feed the chipmunks together. When I think of the memories of those early mornings with my Grandpa they bring up a feeling that is hard to put into words. It's happiness and laughter. It's feeling carefree and safe and loved - a love that I think only a grandparent can give. I felt sad on my ride home because that big, red porch is gone and so is that little girl. But, then the millions of happy memories I have of my Grandpa, of my Grandma, bubbled up inside of me, they flashed before my eyes. And I remembered that the bond I have with my Grandparents is something that extends over the miles and the time between visits. It is something that I will always carry inside of me. And I didn't feel so sad anymore.