What started off as a work trip, ended up being a trip to visit family and it couldn’t have been better. I haven’t been to my grandpa’s house in years, yet it is mostly all the same. The trees have gotten bigger, and the old farmhouse that we weren’t allowed to even think about going near as kids is a little more run down, and the shrubs are a little overgrown. But all in all, it is the same.
The flower pots still grace the edge of the patio where the grass meets cement. The grass is still just as sparse because grandpa likes to spread the dirt around making the yard level. Horses graze just beyond the edge of the property line. And wildflowers make their presence known in bright colors of yellow and purple.
Okay, so the purple one isn’t wild. It sounded better than just yellow wildflowers in the form of mustard and dandelions.
Piles of chopped wood sit waiting for the day they can be thrown into the furnace. And a lonely “Do Not Enter” sign rests against the edge of the woodpile near the old farmhouse. Is it a subtle way of saying you really shouldn’t enter the old house?
A cool breeze rustles the leaves as I sit here under the shade of the many trees naturally scattered throughout the yard, the whole reason for this trips lays peacefully next to me, simply enjoying the company of a human. After, of course, she found some foul smelling thing to roll in. Dogs will be dogs, though.
While rural Michigan isn’t a far-off and exotic place, sometimes you need to stick closer to home and just enjoy being with family and the great outdoors.
