Warm sunny warmth
Through cold glass windows
Yeasty rolls rising in the back of the family car
Over hills and through the woods
To Grandmother’s house we go.
Anticipation of Cedartown’s delights
Found on 155 Springdale Drive
Always love and laughter,
Games, crafts and puzzles.
Always food and more food,
Our initials in pancakes, sausage patties sizzling,
Maple syrup love pouring on our plates and in our hearts.
Always opening the toy box,
Knowing exactly what to expect.
Always, always,
The lake and the ducks to be fed.
Sometimes bundling up,
Straw-like grass crunching beneath our feet.
Sometimes shorts and sandals,
Endless green grass rolling down to the water.
Rowing the boat or fishing under the tree.
Grandmother and GrandDaddy,
Pinkies linked,
Smiling as they surveyed
Their place of hospitality.
Sometimes cozy sing-alongs by the fireplace,
Sometimes cousins splashing in icy springs waters.
Sometimes bouncing around in the chevrolet Blazer
Later years, Grandmother in her chair.
Always listening,
Always present,
Always interested
In our lives and plans and dreams.
Our names on her prayer list
Long flights with eager little ones…
Over countries and through customs
To Gogo and Baba’s house we go
Always love and laughter to be found
At 209 East John Hand Rd.
Always food and more food
Always hospitality and welcome
Playing games in the sunroom
Little fish pond, gazebo, cook-outs,
Swimming pool, Picnics on the deck.
Always opening Lee’s Fort,
Knowing it will be brimming with treasures.
Always the little orange car
Zipping through the yard.
Always reading of books and
Tournaments of sports or carroms or rook,
Always, always songs around the piano,
Cousins camps and waterfights,
A place of celebration with
Love and acceptance given and felt.
Later years, Baba in the sunroom,
A room that love built,
Physical body fading away,
But love, alive and well.
Care and grace and laughter
A sacred space
As we walked the road to heaven with him.
Over the time zones
And through the memories
I have traveled to Cedartown
These last few years to a different place
700 Montgomery Ave, Apartment 3.
My Mother’s place,
A quieter space of healing and rest.
Nature and walks.
Redbirds and deer.
A place of beauty and grace.
Three different addresses in Cedartown,
Spanning decades.
As a toddler, I visited my grandparents there.
In more recent years, I have taken my toddler grandchildren to visit.
Now, a chapter closes,
My Mother is moving to a different place.
God’s leading has been sweet and gentle and clear,
It is a good next chapter.
And,
It’s okay to still travel through memories,
To be thankful for all that Cedartown has provided for my family.
To remember and rejoice.
To admit that change is complex,
To put words to this change and the grief that will accompany it.
Even as we joyfully anticipate this next season
And the treasures that await as family will be closer together.
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