As children we aren’t usually much interested in learning about relatives from long ago. Thus it was with me. My father died long before I began to have questions about his grandparents and aunts and uncles. I imagine that he had a wealth of information but that went away with his death. His mother, my Grandma Minnie, sometimes attempted to provide me with a few details about her heritage but I much preferred her stories about birds and the other critters that she understood so well. The result was that I grew up knowing very little about the people who had come before me.
I had a first cousin named Howard who was one of my Aunt Opal’s sons. He and my dad had actually been quite close. They were only a couple of years apart in age even though my dad was Howard’s uncle. They both became mechanical engineers and they shared a number of interests, thus my parents often visited Howard and his wife. I was fascinated by this cousin of mine who was old enough to be my father. He had a collection of arrowheads that he had found along White Oak bayou before someone had the questionable idea of pouring concrete along its banks. He also raised baby alligators and collected all sorts of wonderful things. Visits to his home were always a ton of fun. Continue reading “The Old Family Home”
Mike and I have embarked on the biggest tour that we have ever taken in our trailer. It is a very special trip centering around a visit with our eldest grandson, Andrew, at Purdue University. We’ll see him this coming Saturday in conjunction with the annual Family Weekend. We decided to plan our route so that it goes through Arkansas and Kentucky because much of the family history of my father’s ancestors played out in those states. We are hoping to locate the grave sites of my great grandfather, great grandmother, and my great great grandmother. It will be quite an adventure. 
When I was eight years old my favorite stories were fairytales and I really and truly believed that they were real. My beliefs were reinforced when I attended my first wedding. My eldest cousin, Leonard, was marrying a beautiful young woman named, Jeanne. The two of them seemed as close to being a prince and princess as any couple that I had ever seen. 
They say that the little things in life are all that matter, but what are those little things? For me they always occur in a fleeting moment that surprises me and takes my breath away. Such memories are rarely planned, they just happen and become forever unforgettable. There are countless ways that someone or something can make life special and most of them don’t cost much, if anything. 
I believe in miracles and the power of prayer for I have seen wondrous things. Just last week I smiled at photos of a little boy named Holden in his football uniform and at his kitchen table preparing for the beginning of the school year. It wasn’t that long ago that hundreds of us were storming the heavens on behalf of Holden and his family. When he was only an infant he was diagnosed with leukemia. He spent much of his early life undergoing tests and treatments in Texas Children’s Hospital. His milestones were marked by chemotherapy and painful procedures. Somehow he kept a delightful smile on his face and his family maintained a remarkable strength and faith that in spite of all of their trials, everything would one day turn out well. His grandmother called him Holdie Pants and often declared that she loved him to the moon and back. His first friends were other very sick children, some of whom did not make it. Weeks and months and years went by and the hope for Holden continued unabated. One glorious day the doctors declared that his leukemia was in remission. A reminder of just how sick he was surfaces each time he must regularly undergo tests to determine if his cancer has returned. So far he has done well. Now he appears to be just a very normal little boy but those of us who know him realize that he is a heavenly miracle standing in front of us. 
All It Takes Is A Little Love 