Family Matters - Page 4

"So," I say. "You've got a house on a circle with a basement, a porch, and a yard full of trees. That sounds vaguely familiar." Her face lights up. "I hadn't even thought of it," she said. "It is like Grandmamma's and Granddaddy's house!" She's delighted, and my own spirit lightens.

This is what I've learned in my season of loss and grieving: at some point, you have to grab onto the future again. Our house has wandered off to a new place, but the experiences that bound our family close remain. While my mom's beloved yard is gone, her love of digging in the earth lives on in me. And while my mom herself is gone, there's a six-week-old girl here who already shows signs of being as rare a bird as her great-grandmother was.

Perhaps, one day, we'll play in the woods together.

Peggy Haymes, M.Div., M.A., L.P.C., is a writer and counselor in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her latest book is Didn't See It Coming: How I Faced Bouncing Off a Buick and Other Assorted Stuff. Contact: phaymes@triad.rr.com. Tell us what you think about this article by e-mail at letters@ psychnetworker.org, or log in and comment below.

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