Today we are leaving Florida - which means we are leaving a part of my life that will never be the same. Since I was a baby, most of our vacations were in Florida, spending time with my grandmother. We came to Florida at least twice a year, to the same town, to the same house. Not much has changed in the house (about a 100 years old) except for the people in it. I spent some time this week recalling different memories and "moments" as I went from room to room. As I watched LeAnna playing this week in the same yard and going up and down the same sidewalks that I did when I was her age, I had "more moments" - recalling a time when my dad played with me - here - in this very place. As I looked over the yard, I pondered the thought of how neat it would be if all my memories could be jumbled into one moment in time - then LeAnna could see her mommy having a water fight with her daddy or Mama Neely helping her mommy pick oranges from the trees or maybe even LeAnna meeting her grandaddy for the first time. Wow - overwhelming. But, even though the house will remain and family will still be here for us to visit - there will always be something missing. I guess another chapter in my life has ended and a new one has begun ... but turning the page is hard.
LeAnna has enjoyed herself this week and I'm glad we were able to come here and share this together. At one point earlier in the week, she crawled up into my Aunt Betty's lap and asked, "will you pretend that you are my Mama Nee Nee?" ... I know she will miss her too. One month ago today is when she had the stroke and then passed away on January 7th. It is bittersweet as we leave today.
No comments:
Post a Comment