"Carry Me Home..."

Ahhh...it's summer. Finally. Now we can move lazily through our days dreaming of bar-be-que, corn-on-the-cob and Popsicles. Even though I am NOT a fan of the hot and humid weather this season brings, I love the summer. The kids running through the sprinkler, the roar of motorcycles in the distance, the crickets in the evening...the beautiful fresh air filling my house through wide-open windows.

I always look forward to the summer because that's when vacations begin and Happy and her family come to visit for one week. My house is filled with family and friends and the laughter of grandchildren. Oh, that happens whenever they come home to visit, but in the summer...it's just...different. The kids seem happier...maybe it's all that sunshine. And maybe it's because my Mom and Dad are here, too, to enjoy the kids. Yeah, that has a lot to do with it.

So, I read a blog today http://www.karenmaezenmiller.com/going-home (I cannot seem to add a link to my blogs...weird.) First of all, the picture is from my friend Sweet T and it's beautiful...and incredibly simple. The blog begins with a poem by Donna Hilbert and by the end of the brief encounter, I was hooked. I loved the poetry...it so reminded me of my own Grandmother and parts of my own childhood...I think I have found a new poet to love.

I spent many summers with my Grandma and Grandpa...all of them fill my mind with sweet, hazy, taking-it-easy, memories that seem to, quite simply, wash me clean. Take pause...relax...find-a-place-wherever-you-are, close your eyes and remind yourself of some beautiful, peaceful place. Meditate on it. Find solace there. Seriously...take a deep breath. Go.

Okay...you all know me by now...you know that I am a born-again-blood-bought-spirit-filled-testifyin' child of the King. I know this all sounds WAY New Age. WAY beyond what Christians do. I know in my heart of hearts...the deepest part of me...in my very spirit, that Christ brings me peace. That He is my solace. He is my rest. He washes me clean. I know that. And I will believe that forever. Nothing but the Blood.

That is not the kind of peace I'm talking about. It's that...sigh. That...I-miss-those-days feeling. It's the feeling I want my kids and grand kids to have when they think about spending summers at Oma's house. That sweet, special, out of the ordinary place that puts a smile on your face when you are alone in a crowd and everyone wants to know "what's up with HER"?

Yeah, I'm thinking about my children and their children and how much my Grandma would have loved to have had them all spend a week with her July. At the pool. At Bay Beach. Laying on the covered patio drinking lemonade and licking fudgesicles. Playing with Laddie. Those were the days...the lazy, hazy days of summer youth.

Oh, and in case you were wondering...I'm doing fine.