Summer Evenings

 I talked to my Uncle Mel on the phone this afternoon. 

 I love it when he calls. 

It's as if my dad is calling..their voices are so similar. 

 We are looking forward to a family gathering in July. 

As I talked to him about his plans for the reunion my mind is flooded with memories of those summer days when I was young.

  I loved being at my grandma's house sitting in that screened  front porch when it was really hot outside. 

There was an enclosed back porch off the kitchen where she dried her fruit and had bushels of apples. 

Down the steep, old stairs and out the screen door and into the huge backyard you could run down into the orchard. 

 Grandma had beautiful flowers in her yard and Grandpa's corn and cherries were the best. 

 There was a big brick fireplace where we always barbequed and of course, the fishpond! 

 

Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed their lives. 

 They were happy people. 

 Grandma loved the simple things in life..clean sheets hanging on the clothes line,

 freshly baked bread, flowers in her garden, freshly picked raspberries,

 or birds singing in the trees. 

She loved having her family around her. 

 

As I sit in my garden on these hot summer evenings, 

I remember those days. 

 I remember my heritage,

 I remember how valiant my grandparents were..how they loved the gospel,

 how well they faced their challenges and lived their lives. 

 What an example they are to me. 

 By remembering them,

I am encouraged to live a better life.