Lowe Farm's Magic House

A giant bear hug sweeps you off the floor,

No one escapes this greeting from Grandpa,

Not even dad.

Grandchildren covet the living room couch in the multi-roomed house.

I sleep there tonight, tomorrow my brother’s turn.

Grandma worries I’ll fall in my sleep, and creates a barricade out of kitchen chairs around the couch.

In the dark, glowing pink flowers hypnotize in the orbiting clock.

Sleep is more restful here.

The polished mantle clock gongs of sunlight.

Hymns play on the CFAM.

“Joys are flowing like a river... on the stormy sea speaking peace to me - how the billows cease to roll”

The kitchen stirs with life.

The pantry holds relics of preserves from the summer past.

Light glints off the ruby contents of Grandma’s strawberry jam.

These magic shelves are never empty.

The pool table becomes a vast green pasture for plastic horses and cows.

Little hands make them dance,

Their molded hooves tear at the felt around the red toy barn.

Outside the propane tank morphs into our gallant steed,

Speeding car, soaring plane, magic carpet.

I’m not so little, yet the vibrant golden orbs of Grandma’s marigolds

Tower above me.

The coffee shop down the street

Boasts of perfect grandchildren

Over the perking aroma of age and youth intertwining.

Bear hugs bid us farewell, now that the weekend has ended.

Waving continues till no one is visible.

I didn’t get to wave when they left.

The visits are fewer, now that the bear hugs ceased.

The pantry is bare and the flowers small.

The radio no longer spurs life into the kitchen.

They sleep side by side.

“Blessed quietness, holy quietness - what assurance in my soul! On the stormy sea speaking peace to me - how the billows cease to roll!”

This piece was written in memoriam for my maternal grandparents in 2002.

Mary Rempel December 13th 1921 - April 27 1993

Cornelius Rempel August 21st 1913 - December 20th 1996

Lowe Farm is a small farming town in rural Manitoba.