Sunsets, Snow, and Bridges to the Past~

The aging lady looped stitch after stich with a crochet needle as she worked on a baby blanket in her favorite chair.

She had buried her sister on Sunday.

She was the youngest of 5 children, and all of her brothers and sisters were now dead. Her parents died decades earlier.

The cluttered and tiny house she sat in was comfortable, and the window across the room from her recliner faced the west. A firey orb of fading sun was sinking behind a line of trees in the distance. The blue cold of that March evening settled in on the farm and it's fields, but not on the warm memories of the days events.
-

She rocked gently- and looking over at the sofa, she thought of C, her oldest granddaughter, and namesake of her own mother. "Grandma, will you teach me to crochet? I know how to knit, and I have tried to crochet, but I would like for you to show me how you do it."

-
For over an hour the 82 year old woman, and her 37 year old grand daughter sat on the couch and practiced making making a chain, and then a single crochet, and a double, and a triple. The older woman explained that her Grandmother had shown her how to hold the yarn so that it looped around her little finger, and laid across her pointer finger for taughtness. This crochet secret had made it's way to yet another generation...handed down at least 4 times, perhaps more?
-
Smiling and putting her needle work aside, she arose slowly from her chair and the beloved Grandmother walked to her kitchen. Inside the refrigerator was a large tupperware container full of slow simmered pot roast, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions. A large plastic tub of perfectly seasoned and tender baby lima beans, as well as some fresh cooked green beans only needed re-heating to prepare a perfect meal. Her granddaughter had fixed all this food so that the older woman wouldn't have to cook for the next several days. She laughed when C said, "You'll be sick of pot roast long before you finish it all!"- but it freezes well! :)
-
She fixed a plate with a sampling of everything and heated it up. The aroma of the tender meat, softened potatoes and delicious beans filled the kitchen and living room. She thought about moving south...to be closer to her son, grandkids, and great grandkids. She thought about the 80+ years she had lived in this area, and about all of the friends and family she'd lost in the last 20 years.
Maybe it was time to go. Maybe it was time to settle in with the living and let them care for her.

She looked around her. This had been her home for a very long time. Could she move? Would she survive such an upheaval? What was the alternative? To stay in that 100 year old house and die alone. Not much of choice really.
-
She finished her supper in the kitchen, and returned to her chair.
She picked up her yarn and crochet needle and turned on the TV. She nodded off and dremt of her mother, Cora, and her Grandmother, Amanda, and of her siblings, and of her late husband. After a while, she opened her eyes- realizing- that those who had gone on before her would always be with her, no matter where she was.

But the living- her son and grand children- wanted to be with her now...in the flesh, and inside this limited sphere of time that they all shared.
She had stories to tell and crochet patterns to pass on.
She was the last remaining bridge in the family that linked the past to the future~ she was loved and needed. And she knew it...

I am blessed to have this woman in my family- I hope she moves to North Carolina, and that we have some time to foritfy that bridge.

For History's sake-

Amanda Alice Reed married Edward Lewis Stocker in April of 1882 and was the mother of

Cora Stocker, who married Oscar Crill- and they were the parents of my Grandmother,

Mable Lucille Crill- who married John Runkle and they were the parents of my dad,

Mike Runkle- who married my mother Elva Shelia Alverson- and next came me-

Cora Michealle Runkle...

I was tired in this shot...but at peace and felt a gentle spirit.
I had done what I needed and wanted to do...and it was time to come home.

I hope my Grandmother will call this place "home" one day soon.

_________________________

_________________________

All seriousness aside now- I do have something funny to tell you~ Guess who I found in my mailbox yesterday???

A very Scary Monster!!!

I have lots more to tell about my adventures with this creature- but it will have to keep until tomorrow! I will say that he arrived just in time- and I have enjoyed his company.

I promise- you will get a big kick out of reading my adventures with my new friend!
He is much better behaved than he wants you to think :)