Memories for Mom

The front door opens, a girl stands in the entranceway setting her suitcase down she breathes in the wonderful smells of being home. She hears a television in the background, but fresh flowers combined with the aroma of a baked apple pie allure her to the kitchen. Walks past smelling the colorful bouquet but focusing on getting a piece of grandma’s tasty apple pie. Letting her nose be her guide, and it does not disappoint leading her straight to one of the greatest tastes of the four food groups. The pie still warm, she rustles through the silverware drawer fumbling to find a fork and knife before grandma catches her. Grams I am here! In the kitchen! Grandma sneaks from the back, hiding her presence, waiting for the right moment to show herself. From around the corner, she watches her granddaughter hurrying around the kitchen, fumbling with everything she touches. She waits just before her granddaughter slices into the apple pie. Grams jumps out from the corner, “YOUNG LADY STEP AWAY FROM THAT PIE!” The plate fumbles in her hand and the granddaughter lets out the smallest of shrieks. GRANDMA! Laughing, they embrace with a hug. 

“I’m glad you 're home.”

“Me too, Grams.”

The granddaughter gets another plate, they walk to the back patio to enjoy the tasty homemade apple pie smothered under a mound of vanilla ice cream. Ice cream melting sliding off to the side as they walk to the back patio laughing and talking about college classes and her granddaughter’s roommate. Sitting outside they agree today is warmer. This day is always warmer than any other day of the month. A warm breeze from the east intensifies the humidity, making it feel hotter than it is. Leaves blowing, the trees surrounding the yard create a barrier from the sun’s heat, keeping the back patio cooler for drinks, dessert, and conversation. 

“The summer holds so many memories for me. Do you remember our camping trip to the mountains?”

“The last one before mom died?”

“Yes, it boiled that day. Just like today. We left for the Lake in the Mountains just like today. We should have left earlier in the day since we arrived late in the night and trying to set up the campsite in the dark. Your teenage attitude reared its ugly head when we arrived so late in the evening. Do you remember?”

Indeed, I do, Grams. I also remember we forgot to buy batteries for the flashlights. We had to set the campsite up by using the headlights of the car. Chuckling…… I thought mom was going to bust a vein struggling with the tent and tent poles. I did not know mom was so colorful with her vocabulary choices. I am sure she cussed in another language.” 

“Laughing, your mom, even though she did not color up her vocabulary very often, she could cuss with the best of the potty mouths. A talent she inherited from your grandfather and not from me.”

They pause a moment, enjoying sips of sweet coolness from the iced tea, gazing at the splendor of Grams’ backyard. An acre of land surrounded by beautiful wildflowers, including a bountiful garden, and the old clubhouse they built when her granddaughter was younger, which has long turned into a halfway house for rescued chickens. The dog barks, startling them from the intense thoughts and memories that keep their loved one alive. 

“We must have camped at that lake 100 times over the years and I don’t recall seeing the vivid colors of green in the trees or the blue in the lake like I did the last summer we spent with your mother. I will never forget how she pushed through our trail rides, hiking expeditions, and fishing trips, knowing this would be the last time we would be with her. Her spirit brightened everything. It even put life back into the surrounding mountains. Her spirit will always be a part of the Lake in the Mountains.” 

Tears streaming the granddaughter reach out to hold Gram’s hand. “I miss her too. Every day I do not go without thinking about her. I sometimes wonder why her? What could I have done to help her? Save her?”

“Oh, my darling child, it isn’t your fault. Your mother had an incurable form of cancer. Not even the specialists could save her. We will never know the answer to why she got sick. The memories we share with each other keep her spirit alive. I miss her dearly, but it is comforting to know we are not in this alone. We have each other sweet girl.” 

Tearfully she leans in and hugs her Grams for the compassionate words she spoke about her mom. Wiping her eyes makes her vision blurry and hard to see out in the distance. She watches the little out-of-focus blur strutting around the yard, evoking another memory from the camping trip. 

“Oh my gosh, I almost forgot about the night the little red fox entered the campsite. Remember, Grams. Mom and you were sitting by the fire when I came out of the tent needing to use nature’s bathroom. Our camp’s only light was from the fire burning.”

“I do, I recall you stumbling out from the tent holding yourself squirming around saying I NEED TO GO!! I NEED TO GO!! And we said to pick a bush and your teenage attitude rose its sarcastic little mouth at us. Ha Bahahaha. Oh, the sound you let out after seeing the fox.” 

Readjusting herself in the chair for a better position to explain herself, using her hands to help describe her side of the story. “Mr. fox scrambling for its life! I swear it darted everywhere before finding its way out! What a treat it was getting to see you two move as fast as you did. Especially you Grams!”

“It was a wild animal.” Grams expressed in amusement.

“Grams, let’s take that road trip.”

“Now?”

“Now, and Grams? Bring the batteries.”