Ninety looks good on you! As I sat pondering about what I'd write in your birthday card a flood of memories came to me. I had the best childhood ever, and you only added to it. I remember being a little afraid of you. You were kind of gruff at times, but when I think about it, it was only when we were doing something we weren't supposed to like crossing the little ditch that ran between you and your neighbor's properties, or getting in the shed, or playing in the front room. We knew our boundaries. I remember you laughing a lot and making jokes mostly.
Some of my favorite memories of you were when you took us fishing. My favorite part was NOT having to get up early, but getting to collect the nightcrawlers out of the side lawn for our bait. We had to do that before the sun came up. You showed us how put the stakes in a circle in the ground and then we'd shock the worms out of their holes. They were fast, so we had to be quick to grab them all. I mostly remember going to the fish hatcheries to catch our fish so we would almost always be guaranteed to catch at least one fish.
Summers were so fun at your house. The best part of summer was all the sleepovers we did at your house when Sally and Karen came up for a visit. We'd play mostly outside with all the cousins and play hide and seek, tag, Raptors, and jump on the trampoline. We'd hang out on the deck when it was hot and eat ice cream bars or popsicles. When it was too hot to be outside we played in the basement. It was the perfect place for hide and seek because it was pitch dark and there was the long hallway that went on forever. We could hide just by standing in the middle of the room and not get caught because it was so dark. I remember Uncle Garth playing with us and scaring us. One summer we were playing in the house. For some reason I decided I wanted to play outside so I ran out the back door and immediately got stung by a wasp that was flying by the door. I screamed and hid behind the grill crying. There were now two or three of them circling the door. I didn't know what to do because I needed to get back in but they were blocking the door. I decided to just run through them as fast as I could. I got stung again. On the way out it was on my finger, and on the way back in it was on my toe. I had never felt pain that bad. I was crying and screaming. Aunt Sally grabbed me and found some pennies to put over the stings with some ice. I sat on her lap as she bandaged me up.
Christmases were so fun and magical at your house. Every Christmas Eve we'd go to your house and have dinner. We'd then go downstairs to open the presents you got us, sing Christmas karaoke songs, and then you'd read the nativity story from the bible. Santa Clause would come for a visit and we'd get to sit on his lap and receive a candy cane after we told him what we wanted for Christmas. One Year I remember Santa leaving and the boys all crowed around the window so tightly and shouting out that they could see his sleigh. I couldn't get through to see until it was too late.
Picking cherries, playing with Missy and the cat (I can't remember her name), and doing puzzles on the table were also some fun things I remember. I remember getting to sleep on the trundle bed upstairs sometimes. We had so much fun growing up. Thank you for being present and being there for us grandkids. I will always cherish these memories.
I also have a couple memories of Grandma. She was always holding Missy. She loved her dog. I remember visiting her at work at the dairy place she used to work at with the inflatable cow. I remember her taking Becky and I to Homemaking activities and one particular super Saturday where we made some Christmas ornaments.
One memory that is very special to me was when I was eight years old after Grandma and Grandpa Stockdale died Grandma needed to go to Franklin to go through their things at the house. Somehow I ended up going with her. I don't remember if I asked to go or she asked me first, but I got to go with her, just the two of us and Dopey. I don't remember much of what we did except go through piles of all Grandma and Grandpa's belongings. I do remember being afraid of being anywhere near the doors or walls of the house because of all the boxelder bugs that were always crawling all over the house. Those and flies were everywhere, so I stuck pretty close to Grandma. We stayed the night and we shared a bed upstairs. I remember feeling kind of weird about it, but I had Dopey in one hand and Grandma’s hand in the in other, so I was good. That's all I remember of that trip. I just felt special because I was the only one who got to go.
I love you, Grandpa. I hope to be as present with my own grandkids as you were with us. It is an honor to be a part of your family legacy.
