Precious Memories

Hi Everybody! I know I promised to post something every day or at least every other day but #1 - I've had trouble geting pictures to load for this post for several days and #2 - I just haven't been able to get around to getting it figured out because sometimes, life just gets the way! I had a list a mile long of things that needed to be done around the house and I've spent the past few days marking things off my list. I am a compulsive list maker - I have lists for everything. It helps me feel accomplished when I can mark something off my list. Anyway, back around Mother's Day, we were visiting family up in Miller's Creek and as we drove past my grandparent's old house I noticed that there was something wrong with the roof on the barn. I asked my Dad if it had been torn off during the recent storms we'd been having and he told me that the barn was being torn down. I can't even describe exactly how I felt at that moment - I guess hurt would be the best word to describe it. I just kept thinking "No, no, no!!!" in my mind - how could this be happening?! I don't know why I have such an attachment to that barn, but I just always have. Out of all of my grandparents, my Papaw was my favorite - I loved him dearly and respected him more than words. He died eight days after the Bub was born and I never got to say goodbye. Seeing that barn being torn down felt to me like he had died all over again. That may sound crazy, but that's just how it felt.

I have so many great memories of that barn from my childhood and it just reminds me of my Papaw so much. I remember helping Granny and Papaw milk cows there, watching calves being born there, watching Papaw work on the tractor, playing in the hay, and trying to catch the wild kittens that lived in the loft. The loft was like a secret playhouse and I had so much fun running back and forth across the board that connected the two sides of the loft. It's a miracle I never fell and broke my neck - the board was only about 8 inches wide and probably 6 feet off the ground! Most of all though, I loved how it smelled like hay and cows and dirt. I hope I never forget that smell.

While looking around the barn that day, we did find a few treasures. The Bub collected a bunch of rusty old tools that belonged to Papaw and some really cool old bottles. I found a beautiful old basket and some scrap barn wood along with two very important things: an old table up in the loft and the old ladder to the loft. Nobody remembers the old table, but I like to think that maybe it was Granny and Papaw's first kitchen table from when it was just the two of them. Who knows for sure... Then the old ladder. I must have climbed that ladder at least a million times as a kid. That's where I would sit while Papaw worked on the tractor. I ate watermelon with my cousins on that ladder, and I would stand on it and watch the wild kittens eat the food I brought them. My uncle got the table down for me a few weeks later and gave me the ladder to bring home. The ladder is now a quilt rack in my living room and the little table is in my kitchen. I'm so proud and happy to have these two pieces in my home and they mean the world to me. I will keep trying to post the pictures - maybe I can get them to load in a separate post! Have a great day everybody !!