Image by Kathleen Handrich from Pixabay
“Well, this has been an unexpectedly wonderful day,” Capt. R.E. Ludlow said to his cousins Col. H.F. and Mrs. Maggie Lee. “Thank you for being such wonderful hosts to us – nine mouths to feed is a lot on short notice!”
“It was really was no problem – lasagna is so easy!” Mrs. Lee said.
“When you know how,” Mrs. Thalia Ludlow said. “You really do know how, Maggie.”
“It was such a lovely day … and so quiet and open here,” Capt. Ludlow said.
“Well, usually, the sightseeing tours miss Old Big Loft anyhow,” Col. Lee said, “and then with the pandemic, Old Big Loft is generally so hallowed and quiet that one can almost hear old Major Lofton's peg leg gently tapping, about to walk out from his house at any time. He lived humbly in the shadow of his larger-than-life brother General Lofton, and he still does, but what General Lofton started and carried from 1840 to 1864, Major Lofton finished between 1866 and 1900. We have a Lofton County because of the quiet, humble major and his second wife, R.M.S. Lofton.”
“And, as usual, people overlook the people who get the work done in quiet,” Mrs. Ludlow said.
Capt. Ludlow smiled.
“It's like grandson Grandson says all the time,” he said. “He will tell you that when he is at school, no one even knows he is there until they see his work. And he is comfortable with that, at six years old!”
“Men like Major Lofton are who they are when they come here,” Mrs. Lee said, “and so are each of your grandchildren, Robert. What I loved about spending time with them is enjoying each of their strong and unique personalities, although I recognize that eight weeks with them is going to be quite the adventure!”
“Oh, absolutely,” Capt. Ludlow said as he looked fondly at his seven grandchildren, all sitting and talking to each other while eating fruit that they had picked in Old Big Loft – although General Lofton's orchard was now Fruitland Memorial Park, the major had lived up there for at least six months for every year from 1866 to 1900, and had brought some of the smaller saplings to his property as well. “The labor is real, but so is the love.”
Col. Lee smiled, and shed a rare tear.
“R.E.,” he said to his elder cousin, “in that you even count us worthy to share in the labor with you, I will be forever grateful. I lost my son and my wife 26 years ago, and I never thought I would be able to heal, ever be able to find that place of love again. But Maggie handled one half of that, and my cousins here have given me the space to heal.”
“I am comforted too – you know Harry and I both lost our mates and children at the same time,” Mrs. Lee said. “We know your grandchildren are not our children, Robert, but your allowing us to love them gives us confidence that should the Lord lead us to have a family of our own, we still have the love and the ability in us to be good parents. As you know, you spend so much time blaming yourself for not knowing what to have done – although there was nothing any of us could have done – to not lose your children … but the secret is, learning to love again, moving forward.”
“Yes,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “We can't do anything about the past, but we are here and there is plenty of loving to do, right here.”
“And right now!” Capt. Ludlow said, because his ears had picked up what nine-year-old grandson George had said: “You know that plums and cherries and peaches and almonds are all related, and so if you can get the seeds open in there, there's a nice nut to eat, so with this cherry pit if we just break them with these rocks –.”
“Put down the rocks and the cherries, NOW, George.”
“But it would be like having pre-mixed cherry peanut butter and jelly, Papa!”
“It would be like you either putting someone's eye out with a cherry seed or dying of cyanide poisoning – there is a reason God did not mean for cherry seeds to be opened!”
“I'm going to be praying for you and Harry, this whole coming week, and for the eight after that,” Mrs. Ludlow purred to Mrs. Lee.
“Thank you,” Mrs. Lee said with a chuckle. “I know we need it!”
That George is something else. He has a thought with that pre-mixed peanut butter. I've seen some in the store. Actually bought some. Not the same. Keep them separate until ready to eat.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Take care.
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Absolutely not the same ... pre-mixed peanut butter is a lie! But see, George is still settling in with his grandparents, who would NEVER serve him pre-mixed peanut butter with a side of cyanide... ONE cherry stone contains enough cyanide to kill a boy George's size! If you ever wondered why a cherry stone is a jawbreaker supreme, that's why!
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My favorite saying is, I love my children but I love my grandchildren more. But after having them for a weekend, I am whipped by the time they are to go home.
God Bless the Lees.
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I imagine you would be ... if they are ANYTHING like the Ludlow grandchildren, anybody would be whipped!