The phone was ringing, I looked down,

Mom’s calling…

“Hello.”

“You have to come now.”

“Alright, let me see if I can drop the kid off on my way.”

She’s too young to go through this…

I’m going through the motion of being in a hurry…

I’m really not in a hurry.

I know what’s waiting for me

at the end of my trip…

We stop, the kid and I, she’s going to spend the night.

Just a little chitchat, I don’t want to be rude,

Don’t want to dump and run…

Don’t want to go…

I know what’s waiting for me

at the end of my trip…

I’m back on the road, alone…

Well kind of alone…

Memories are all around me.

They are pulling and tugging at me,

They want attention.

They know what’s waiting for me

at the end of my trip…

The freeways are busy.

Oh, I really hate to drive this far.

I’m not good with this much traffic.

So many freeways intersecting and the roads are unfamiliar.

I’ve not driven this way often.

I’m going through the motion of being in a hurry…

I’m really not in a hurry.

I know what’s waiting for me

at the end of my trip…

Memories, oh, they just won’t stop!

They’re pestering me,

trying to distract me, get my attention.

They aren’t succeeding, so they bring in the backup.

Emotions. Oh, God. The emotions, they wash over me, in waves,

the car is filled with them.

We all know what’s waiting for me

at the end of my trip…

I finally arrive, well I park at least.

I have to make my way through the maze.

Mom’s there, she looks at her watch, annoyed.

“What took you so long? He’s waiting for you…”

I know what’s waiting for me

it’s not the end of my trip…not yet

“Hi Granddad, I love you, I’m sorry I’m late.”

I touch his arm, I hold his hand.

He struggles to speak…

Words are lost to him now…

I see the pain, the sadness in his eyes,

I also see the love.

He reaches for me with his other hand.

So little strength, so little control left,

“It’s alright Granddad, everything’s alright.”

I’m clinging tighter now…

Our eyes are locked in our last embrace.

Granddad, oh how I miss you, even now so many years later, you were the rock of our family. You taught me my love of nature, my respect for all life. You taught me to find my creativity, and nurture it. Nothing is ever cut and dry, every relationship has its complexities, ours was complex, but in the end, I know how much you loved me. I understand you did the best you could.

Family, it can be so much more than bloodlines and legal definitions. The complexities that surround it are what gives it strength, or tears it apart, but in the end, there is still that invisible string that ties us together, that makes us who we are. When we truly love each other, the love is all that remains.