Tuesday, February 15, 2011

TRDC - 5 Minutes That Mattered


The assignment is: after you have died, your daughter/son will be given the gift of seeing a single five-minute period of your life through your eyes, feeling and experiencing those moments as you did when they occurred. What five minutes would you have him/her see? 

I could see the brick house from where I crouched in the woods. The sun was still slightly warm on my shoulders, but the minutes counting down to the creeping chill of approaching dark where not far away. I was still breathing heavy from the exertion of jumping logs, moving stones and narrowly escaping the clutches of an evil sorcerer. It had been a ingenious plan of escape with only the birds that hovered in the trees above to witness. Behind me the last specks of magic were falling to the woods floor. Their tinkling sounds muted by leaves that had recently fallen heralding in another season. In front of me, the house. Real life complete with hushed whispers surrounding my dying grandfather and the heaviness of time that magic can't heal.


My beloved grandfather was dying and was spending some of his last days at his farm. It was one of his many ventures, this farm; with its now untended fruit orchards, barren vegetable gardens, a pasture where cows now longer grazed lazily and woods that still held fleeting magic for a young girl precariously balanced between being a princess battling a sorcerer and a young adult dealing with the death of a loved grizzled old man.

In the next five minutes I was going to have to emerge from the woods and open the door to the house. The door that used to open to a weary and triumphant princess. Welcoming her back with the smells of warm bread sticks, seasoned meat and a pie if lucky. PawPaw would be sitting in his recliner watching National Geographic and complaining about how late dinner was although it was always right on time. Nana would be scurrying around like a little sparrow tending her nest and making sure that everything was in its perfect place. There was just enough time before I had to scrub up to rattle off to PawPaw what adventures I had. It was these few moments that I could make his eyes sparkle. He could see the magic.


This time there would be no complaining about dinner. He rarely ate anymore. There would be no sparkle in his eyes. His eyes no longer focused on the magic. I picked up a small stone from the edge of the woods and ran my finger over its texture. It was a stone just like this that I had used to line the path to my cottage that I had spent the summer building out of twigs and branches. There was still magic in this stone. If I closed my eyes tight enough against the pain of life I could feel it pulse in my hand. In those last five minutes I made a choice for the rest of my life. I knew this would probably be the last time I would be in those magical woods. I knew that in the coming weeks I would say goodbye forever to the magic sparkle in my PawPaw's eyes. With the stone clutched firmly in my hand I pushed myself away from the shelter of those woods, but the magic was coming with me.

No matter what stabbing pain the life outside of the woods would bring, I would hold onto that small pulse of magic. I would share it with whoever would be willing to see it and I would always see the sparkle in someone's eyes. In those last five minute, I was choosing to hold onto something that would not die as long as I held tightly to it and believed in its power to always take me back to the woods where my heart and the birds hovering in the trees held witness to the power of magic.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you know that the magic will always be there but I'm sorry that the reality was the loss of your grandfather.

I posted about my grandparents and their home as well...

Kir said...

that was just so powerful, and you really had me there in those woods, looking at that house, not wanting to go in to see the grandfather I loved going away.

thank you for sharing that and for reminding me in that memory that in every loss there is the chance to get something too.

this was just beautiful.

Veronica said...

Visually stunning, heartbreaking and hopeful. Wow.....

Valerie Boersma said...

Incredibly beautiful piece of writing!
It brought back memories of my own Grandparents, and also the death of my beloved Uncle John.
My world was definitely less magical after they were no longer a part of it. I'm glad to have my own "stones."

Erin said...

That magic is so very powerful! I hope you will always hold it! Your imagery was wonderful!

I Thought I Knew Mama said...

I love the focus on magic and how it is the undercurrent of a very real, very earthly 5 minutes!

Unknown said...

As I read through your words, I recalled my grandparents - each one and the special memories I have around their homes. Great writing always makes our own memories come alive through the words of the author.

Great writing my friend.

Megan (Best of Fates) said...

I LOVE how you held onto the magic. Beautiful.

Jessica said...

This is beautiful, love how you held onto magic while having to let go of your grandfather.

Babysmartees said...

Your writing is wonderful and you blog is gorgeous. Found you thanks to @ColoradoMom on Twitter. I really must spend some time on the look of my blog - if you would like to visit it is www.babysmartees.blogspot.com

Will be back to visit you, Paula

ex tx n tn said...

i remember those woods well. Thanks for the good cry, my head hurts now. Why can't your writing suck? You described it all so vivdly and perfectly.

Brooke said...

My grandmother suffered a stroke a year ago, and we watched as that spark slowly dwindled from her eye. It was heart-breaking, but I still find bits of her shining through while shuffling a deck of cards or lining up a Bingo on my tile rack during a game of Scrabble. Those closest to us live on through us and our memories of them.

Lovely post.

The Sisters' Hood said...

Hello lovely one, have read all of your recent posts and only just getting around to comment.
How I love the picture this post conjures in my mind!
You really got the Valentines day thing down for it means once you move beyond the honeymoon phase, and who wants to dust another stuffed animal ... but your post on Being a Mom, that one made me cry ... because, I miss these moments somedays .. and you reminded me to savor them all :)

Tracie Nall said...

In the midst of deep pain....this is so beautiful and powerful.

Kris said...

I read this post this morning, but wanted to return to let you know that it has stayed with me.

Your words have some of that sparkly magic of which you spoke.

I thought you should know.

Kris

Cheryl said...

Love that sparkly magic, and what a gift to always have it to hold on to. Lovely piece.

The mad woman behind the blog said...

My dad once handing me a smooth stone, called it a worry rock and I carry it still, rubbing away nerves.

Your post carried me away to childhood and my forgotten imagination. I love that you hold on to that magic and how you made that magic real for us.

Evonne said...

What a beautiful post! This reminded me of being in the woods behind my own Grandparent's house as a kid.

I hope you always hold onto that magic.

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