Sunday Afternoons

We put the finishing touches on the yard this morning before our company arrived. Our deck looks like a botanical garden with herbs, flowers, vegetables, and trees. Looking down from the deck towards the barn, there is a mimosa tree. They are in bloom now and the flowers look like pink parachutes hi-lighted by the setting sun. Jilda said that as a child she would get the blossoms and touch them to her face like a powder puff.
My sister-in-law Pat brought her three year-old grandson Jerred with her today. He lives in the city and has a yard smaller than our flower bed. Jarred hit the ground running when he saw our yard. He had a truck and he must have put fifty miles on those small wheels while we were grilling out. His face got red as a beet so after he had mined all the rocks in our yard, I called him over to the container garden and was showing him the squash. He looked at me as if to say "why are you showing me this stuff?" but then I hit him with the cool shower spray from the garden hose. I transported him with a few drops of water straight to heaven. He ran like crazy and then wheeled around to say you can't spray me...so I hit him again. He laughed till he lost his breath. He kept coming back wanting the hose. I'm guessing he wanted to share the fun with grandma Pat, but I kept it between us.
There is something about Sunday afternoons. It doesn't take a lot of money, gas, time, or trouble to invite a few folks over, fire up the old charcoal grill to burn a few dogs and have a great time. I wish I had known this when I was younger. I was always looking for the "action" when the truth is, the "action" is where ever YOU are. Life is what you make it.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. If you know a veteran take a moment to say thank you. If you have never been in the military or ever been to war, you cannot fathom what they have been through or are going through. We owe a debt to them that we can never repay.