New Year Relic

The last time I woke up in my childhood home on New Years Day was when I was 17.  I got here on Thursday morning and wouldn't see my own home again until Sunday night. 

If you've read my blogs about my childhood, you already know that I grew up deep in the woods and was not fond of being so far removed from civilization.  My brother on the other hand, loved it.  He inherited our paternal grandparents home and lives there most of the time while his lovely bride keeps house at the other end of the county. 

She's like me.  The big woods are too far away to stay for any length of time.  

He invited me and our mother over for lunch today and I couldn't get there fast enough.  He's a wonderful cook and it had been a long time since I'd had fried fish from the river. New Years Resolution Calorie Counting can wait.  I grabbed my camera on the way out the door.

After lunch, I told him I wanted to go outside and take pictures.  I needed to feed my soul with old things.  I needed to feel this home again.  I'd been missing my Daddy more than usual this trip and I wanted to be near the things he loved so.

My brother has left much of this property untouched. Time has painted the buildings and their artifacts with a wide brush loaded with rusty hues and mossy textures that dare you to even consider restoration.  

Being here, I could see the years being peeled back and the longer I looked, more layers were revealed. I could almost feel my Daddy walking there beside us, his weathered hand touching the metal of an old bulldozer, his finger tips running across a grouping of old window weights, lined up like soldiers waiting for orders.  He loved it here.  This was his childhood home and where he spent time still after he had a home and a family of his own.

My soul is full.

Some people believe the spirit of loved ones who have died can come back and hover about.  Heck, some even believe their radiance can be captured on film and appear as an orb of light.  I've never been a believer of this in particular but I don't know now.  No, maybe now I do.  Go back and look at the first picture I posted. 

I see you Daddy.  And I miss you more than ever.  Thanks for spending time with me today.  Happy New Year.