MEMORIES OF LOVE

We lived in a rural community in Virginia. Your nearest neighbor  lived maybe a mile or more "up the road". You walked to the mailbox, nice long walk. You walked to the bus stop, not a nice long walk during winter time.
After school  time was spent outside either riding your bike "up the road"  and "down the road, or just playing in yard. The yard was so huge! We knew when it was time for dinner. It was dark, so it must be dinner time!  Good ole country cooking.
Hot tea was served  with dinner in the winter. My Grandmother had this wonderful Aladdin lamp shaped tea pot. A beautiful shade of blue, hot tea never tasted so good . The tea was served hot, sweet, and creamy. Yum-o!  I remember those days fondly.
My Grandmother sewed alot on her old pedal Singer sewing machine. She also hand stitched, knitted, and crocheted. Had a garden and canned all her vegetables and fruit.
My fondest memory ? Elementary school Thanksgiving play. I got the part of Pocahontas. I needed a costume. I told my Grandmother she said she would make me one. I never saw her working on my costume, so i began to worry. What if she doesn't make it?  After we all went to bed, i would see a light coming from the kitchen. Its just Mom(thats what i call my Grandmother) she's probably cleaning or reading or doing something she can't do when we are all awake. So the day came to bring our costumes in to school. I thought i don't have one. My Grandmother came out of her bedroom carrying what looked like a burlap potato sack. It was different  than the usual sack it had these beautiful colors of green, purple and my favorite color red. It wasn't just any ordinary potato sack! She said here's your costume. I thought it was the most beautiful costume i had ever seen. I felt just like Princess Pocahontas. I was so proud of that costume. My Grandmother, after a day of cleaning, garden, cooking, and washing clothes  stayed up late to make my costume. I will never forget her love and care in making that for me. My Grandmother has this chest. We call it her secret chest, a place where she keeps her memories. One day she took me into the bedroom over to the "Secret Chest" and pulled out my costume. She had kept it all those years. She said "here, take this its yours. I took it. Its not just a costume, its a memory, its love. Enjoy my picutres of love from my Grandmother to me, now to you.