Rocking on the Porch

I was sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair watching the most important man in my life on a John Deere.  I was thinking how I'd really like to go to Bloodworth's store and get some fresh sliced ham and some hoop cheese to make a sandwich. A real Coca-Cola in a glass bottle would just top top it off.  I knew when I finished eating that meal that there would be something really good for dessert made with loving hands.  Yep, that sounded like a plan. I could hop on my bike and ride those few miles or maybe I could get a ride in the car. 

Then I heard Adele playing on Pandora on my cell phone.  Back to reality.  I was sitting on the porch in the rocker but it was my husband on the stick steer mower and not my Daddy on the tractor that I was watching.  The sandwich still sounded like a good idea but I wasn't sure how late the store stayed open on Saturday.  And there would be something good for dessert but it would be my hands that made it--but it would still be filled with love.

It is odd how sometimes the smallest things bring back so many memories.  I remembered the many times I spread a quilt under the walnut tree in the front yard and stretched out to read a book.  I thought about the times with my Grandma Mitchell watching her dry sliced apples on the tin roof of the old building in the back yard.  I laughed thinking about the chickens and how I hated the rooster because he always tried to peck my ankles.  Of course, I liked to watch Grandma catch a hen and wring her neck!  Fried chicken was on the way!  In my mind I could hear Momma's voice calling from the back door to come on in.  Good memories.  Good times.

I miss a lot of things about those days--a lot has certainly changed..  Daddy and Grandma have reached their eternal Home and Momma doesn't say anything any more.  I long quite often for time to just be still and read a book--no worries, no rush.  I miss so much from my childhood days.

A lot of things I don't miss though. I never really liked dried apples in my fried pies so I'm glad now to just make them with applesauce.  And when Momma called me to come in I was probably helping Daddy do some kind of work. (I'm sure I was never as much "help" as I thought I was!)  And I really do prefer buying my chicken with no bones or skin--and especially no feathers.  :)

So I waited for the lawnmower to be loaded on the trailer.  I left the porch and got ready to head back to our house.  But I carried with me a sense of peace and comfort that I rarely feel as an adult.  And for a little while that was enough.