Family

The green trees, a lighter shade of green with lots of yellow in it instead of forest green, stays on my mind. The soft grasses, large space between houses and a feeling of openness are what I keep remembering about going to Boston. A suburb just outside of the city was our destination and it felt like I was 3,000 miles from home. Part of me feels at home on the East Coast because I spent a great deal of time growing up there, in various states, and it is familiar in little ways. The accents, the city life, and the landscape stay with me.

The purpose of the trip was to see my 95 year-old grandmother and to introduce her to Zoe for the first time. Gramma had only met London once on her first birthday and we hadn’t seen her since. I cannot imagine having a great granddaughter and not meeting her. We had to fix that. Gramma fell in love in the first three minutes as soon as the girls both ran up to her and gave her a hug of their own accord. It was a sweet moment. The city is charming as expected. Historical brownstone buildings covered in ivy, intricate ironwork on the stairs outside, and gardens that rest atop the buildings for the fortunate ones that can live there. The Commons is a gorgeous park in the center of the city that houses friendly squirrels and is filled with dogs out for a stroll on leash. Boston is a smaller version of New York with shorter buildings and more charm. Scott and I could have spent days exploring and photographing the old churches and life in the streets.

 My Cousin Emmy gave me a huge hug when I saw her and it was like old times again. We always pick up where we left off and talk at an accelerated pace with an explosion of things to share with each other. She feels like family to me and it’s fun to be together. Her dog is considered a German Shepard but I think he is a scientific experiment of a new breed. His size far surpasses that of any German I’ve ever seen before. He is mammoth!!!! He kept licking little Zoe’s face and was a total love. Awesome dog.

My Uncle Paul and I only met once before, nearly twenty years ago. He and his wife Jean invited us for a family breakfast on the last morning of our visit. We pulled up to a charming house that was built in 1860 and a matching barn sat beside it. A large front and back yard surrounded it with a pink Dogwood tree nearby. Colorful fish swam around in the coi pond in the front. The home was cozy and filled with beautiful stained glass pieces that Jean has crafted over the years. I was surprised to see some art from my dad and my grandfather on the walls as well. There isn’t much of it to see now, so it’s special to get a glimpse of.

Our family had breakfast together and then went outside to see my uncle’s bees up close. He encased me in a special suit and then guided me through the process of checking on the bee’s production and see if the Queen’s had been released yet. It was a new experience for me and I liked the excitement of trying something new. Things went smoothly and no stingers were lost that morning. The girls chased each other in the grassy back yard and then gave Morgan, the Golden Retriever, a lot of attention. This was a normal day in so many ways but very special for all of us. I was sad to leave because I know we could have enjoyed more family time but I was grateful for the experiences that we did have together. My grandmother now knows her great-grandchildren and that is so important.