A long distance grandma,
my memories are quite select,
a bit foggy for precise ages.
When you were but a babe
we whiled away an afternoon on your great Granddad's
verandah at the farm at Milestone.
I think it was on that same trip
we drove to Aunt Kate's beach house
at Fort Qu'Appelle.
On the way we sang
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
When you were about eight,
you visited me in Kelowna
with your dad;
you drew a picture of me
on green construction paper with yellow crayon.
(I still have that drawing.)
And on that same trip
you and I went shopping on
that visit to Kelowna -
you bought a watch
with your very own money.
Then when you were twelve
you stayed
in the camper with me
at the edge of the orchard
when I worked at the fruit stand,
you ate fresh Gala apples
from the big red wooden bin.
We walked one evening on the road
and talked about video games (your topic) and
Star Trek (my topic)
We went to a movie (Dukes of Hazard) after the
fruit stand was done on one day.
When you were sixteen - or was it seventeen -
you drove
me to supper at Boston Pizza in Regina
just when the Rider's football game got out!
And when you were eighteen,
I proudly watched your graduation from high school,
celebrating with a family barbecue
at your Grandpa's cottage at Regina Beach.
You and I had supper at a Pub in Regina last summer.
We discussed Stephen Hawking's theories.
Your excitement was contagious!
I know there are many more memories
tucked safely away in my mind.
I treasure them all.
Being a long distance Grandma worried me
afraid that we’d never know each other.
Guess I didn't have to worry! Love you Jon!
“There are two lasting bequests we can give our children.
One is roots. The other is wings."
~ Hodding Carter, Jr.
...two tiny hummingbird beaks 
