Country Roads

It's a route I took many times during my childhood.

Traveling the country roads that took us to my grandparents' homes, we children received a drive-by history of many sites.

There was the house in which my mom grew up with her three siblings. On the corner was the country store, owned and run by extended family members. Across the street was her grandmother's house where they sometimes spent the night.

On the left was my paternal grandparents' house. We would drive slowly past the one-room schoolhouse my grandmother walked to, then past the church her family attended faithfully for many years. Behind it is the cemetery that holds the bodies of many departed loved ones.

Last Saturday, we took those same roads as the funeral procession wound its way to that very cemetery. It had been a long time since I traveled those roads, yet I found myself pointing out the same landmarks to my children, straining my memory to recall all that my mom told me about them, wishing I'd paid more attention when she reminisced about her past.

While it's people and shared memories that create our family bonds, these sturdy old buildings are a link to our past, a tangible part of our heritage.

Less than twenty minutes from where we currently live is the house to which we brought both of our children when they were born. I can't remember the last time we drove by and shared the moments when we welcomed them into our home. Maybe it's time to begin building some physical links for them, so that one day they can drive past, with little eyes gazing out of their car windows, and show their children a piece of their legacy.

Are their any places from your past that you visit with your children?

I am grateful to each one of you who expressed your sympathy and lifted up prayers on our behalf during this time of loss for our family. Having such thoughtful and caring readers and friends is truly a blessing!

photo courtesy public domain pictures