Grandma

details of 'Grandma.' I love to reflect on this piece and remember... Jelly on rye toast, colorful buttons organized in a woven basket; the little pond behind the house, fireflies and talking toads; a garden where greens rowered over my young head and the smell of cow manure in the hot summer sun (because that’s what I was told it takes to make a good garden grow.) I remember yellow wildflowers before the untamed land became cement foundations and expensive houses with a fence that blocked off the place where we took long walks. Sandy fingers and bruised knees; blueberries, and a dark shed that felt like a mystery; a fire crackling downstairs in the cold months (and honestly, probably even the warm months); learning to play music on the keyboard even though we weren’t allowed to learn the one that said “rock and roll.” Bubble baths and foreign melodies that became engrained into my mind and the feeling of comfort, of picture books and Jesus and running to grab the hands of my favorite cousins who stopped by. I remember family, i remember feeling like i was at home. Those moments took for granted still have such a soft place in my mind. And to think of everything you escaped to give us that comfort and this freedom... it’s almost unfathomable. *You’re home now and i can’t even imagine the joy exuding from your soul and from the Father, and the beauty you get to witness and peace you get to step into. I hope you can hear the sound of all these memories in my mind, the gratitude I have for the life you created with your two hands, the peace I feel when I think of you. What you gave me, I can’t give back to you but I will cherish everything and I hope that someday, you feel that. Rest in peace Grandma. Sofia Melnichuk