When I Get Home

I was thinking alot about Oma today, ten years after she died. I remember my mother calling to give me the news. The day of her funeral was a perfect fall day, mid sixties, sunny with the mums in full bloom. I remember Oma making lunch for us when my dad would take me to work on the farm. No one sits down for lunch like that anymore. The day of her funeral was a perfect day to listen to my old man talk about his mother more eloquently than anybody else could. I think we sang Rock of Ages that day, what a great song, & I remember how Oma sang. No one sang like her, she had a very high pitched voice when she sang. She didn't have a conventionally great singing voice, but she sang with a feeling that conveyed love & conviction, & a connection with the past. I remember thinking that day that the song didn't sound the same without her singing next to us. I remember driving by the farm after the funeral, how the front porch always saw Oma standing & waving until your car was out of sight, like she wanted to make sure she told you that she loved you & to tell you that she hopes you make it home safely & to remind you to come back again soon. That reminded me of my old man standing in the driveway waving until your car was out of sight. Christie always tells me how much she loves that my old man does that. The day of the funeral was a perfect day to plant a tree, life's crazy circle spinning around & around. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, a life, a birth & all sorts of wonderful silly little things in between like new Christmas ornaments & Aunt Rose's birthday on Thanksgiving, making dogs sing, euchre tournaments, going to the American legion, "better than a kick in the pants" & "you're getting a little big for your britches".

A lot has changed since then. I can't help but think how much she would have loved Quinn, Ella, Avery, Sophia, Kaliegh, Lucy, Christie & Lillian.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

When I Get Home-Elizabeth Cotten

Box of Rain-the Grateful Dead

Go to Sleep, The Avett Brothers

Airline to Heaven-Billy Bragg & Wilco

When the Roses Bloom Again-Laura Cantrell

Happy Saturday, friends.