In Remembrance.

Today would've been my grandpa's birthday. For some reason, a few weeks ago, I told my mom I wanted to go up and put flowers on my grandma and grandpa's grave. I hadn't been up there since the funeral and I felt the need to go up.

I did not, however, want to go near their house.

I have some very fond memories of that little house. Memories of sleigh riding, eating carrots straight out of the garden, the time my grandpa picked a huge tomato and then saved it-just for me, playing in the tree house my grandpa built, running through the laundry after my grandma had hung it out on the clothes line, feeding chickens, the day Tevyn shot Tierra in the head with a wrist rocket, riding the horse.... The list goes on.

In my mind, I wanted to believe all of that was still there. The whole experience was still living on, just, for some reason, we didn't visit anymore. I didn't want to pull in and have Holynd ask to see the chickens. I just didn't want to go. I wasn't ready to let that go.

When we drove out of the cemetery, my mom told me to at least drive-by. "You wanted a wind chime" she said. When we moved into this house, I was awake one night feeding Maddox, when I noticed that lady next door had a wind chime outside. The sound reminded me of sleeping over at my grandma's and listening to the wind chimes she had hanging outside. I agreed, knowing that the house was locked up and I wouldn't have to go inside. We pulled in and I went around front to get my wind chime. I found one and came back around. At this point, my mom had noticed that the kitchen door had been left unlocked and she wanted to go in and make sure everything was ok. I didn't want to go in, but nature left me no choice. I had to pee and I knew Holynd would too.

My mom went outside to get Holynd and I was alone in the house. I left as soon as I could because I could feel the emotions starting to rise. Once I was outside and my mom was helping Holynd use the bathroom, I couldn't help it.

I started to cry.

Grandma and grandpa's house was no more and I was sad.

Holynd was buckled back in the car and we pulled away. We didn't get far before my mom realized that she had left her phone in the bathroom.

The house had been locked.

Lovely.

My mom and I quickly started calling my aunt to see if she could come let us in. No answer. We went to her house. No answer.

Oh dear.

We decided to set out and see if we could find a hidden key. No luck.

Finally, I found a screen door that the screen was loose on. I was able to push it lose and unlock the door.

We were in. (Maybe I need to take up a life of crime.)

The phone was recovered and we were, once again, on our way.

In the end, I'm kind of glad the whole phone situation happened. I left remembering how my mom and I laughed while we tried to climb into windows, pry locks open and break-in to the grandma's house, instead of just leaving sad.

I'm sure some laughs were had in heaven today.