Sunday, May 30, 2010

Memories: Magpie Tales #16

A Magpie Tales post.
The old oak boards, scarred and dusty, are now silent of footsteps.  Many generations had come and gone, walking or dancing, working or playing their way across these planks.  As I stand here staring at the floor, memories of a time nearly forgotten flood my mind.  I remember my grandmother, her work done for the evening, taking off her apron and hanging it neatly on a wooden peg next to the sink.  By the soft light of the lamp, she sat writing in her journal as she did every evening, recounting her day, sharing her thoughts on life, her children, her grandchildren.  

My grandfather had passed away some years before.  All the children had all married and moved away, and she lived alone in the house they had shared for so many years.  We would come to visit during the summers, and the house was alive again.  It was great fun to visit Grammy.  My cousins and I running in and out, banging the old screen door until it was nearly falling off its hinges.  We would drag our toys across the wooden floor leaving marks and scuffs, each adding to the scrapbook of life written upon the boards.

Grammy has been gone for many years, and the house now stands empty.  The boards upon which we played are dusty from disuse.  The only things left are Grammy's apron on the peg, and her shoes by the door.


17 comments:

  1. Your Magpie lovingly and accurately describes much of my childhood!

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  2. Beautiful post, Linda! Glad you're joining the Magpie writers.

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  3. Awww! The shoes and the apron - what a perfect ending to a delightful story. It's amazing how the much you got from that one photograph.

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  4. This is a lovely story and the lines..'each adding to the scrapbook of life written upon the boards.' are beautiful

    Christine

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  5. A charming story! I so enjoyed it...

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  6. Helen- Thanks for visiting. While the story is fiction, there is some real life behind it.

    CatLady- Thank you, and thanks to you I learned about magpie tales. I am looking forward to more stories.

    Talon- Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. The shoes and apron part got to me a bit when I read it back to my husband.

    Christine- Thanks for visiting. I'm glad you enjoyed my story.

    Tumblewords- I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for dropping by.

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  7. you stir up some great memories...a beautifully written magpie...hope you are having a wonderful weekend....

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  8. Beautiful memories. My mag is about grandma, too.

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  9. Brian- Thanks for visiting. Some of our plans today got rained out, but we're flexible and just made new ones. Hope your holiday is good, too.

    Willow- Thanks. My story is pretty much fiction, but based on some facts. We did, in fact, in fact visit my grandmother in the summer, and she did wear an apron. She passed away when I was 6.

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  10. what a sweet and memorable tale :)

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  11. Kathe-
    Caty- Thank you both for visiting. Hope you had a nice weekend. This was my first magpie participation. I look forward to more.

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  12. How lovely! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more in the future.

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  13. Linda,

    I loved this story!!! Thanks for sharing it. Like Sue J...I look forward to more:~)

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  14. Sue- Thank you. I'm looking forward to more challenges.

    Sara- Thank you, and thanks for all your encouragement.

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  15. Catching story... tender and nostalgic. Well done!

    loveNlight
    Gabi

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Hi, thanks for visiting my humble abode. All comments are read and appreciated.