Chimes of Time

            My grandparents’ house and garden are a haven of peace and comfort. I can’t really separate the house from the garden because life there kind of flows from one to another. My grandparents prefer to be outside with floors of grass and walls of plants and a ceiling of sky. So any family gathering that takes place in decent weather tends to happen in the garden.

            We used to congregate at a picnic table under a stand of trees. The trees were at the center of grandma’s flower garden which was built among otherwise useless rocky hills. The trees were a shady spot on hot summer days.

         
   My favorite thing about the trees was the fact they were strewn with wind chimes. The chimes clanged and tinkled and bonged with the breeze. It was a relaxing sound to me.

           Every year my sisters and I took turns spending a week on Twining Road. The room we slept in was above the chiming trees.  I loved falling asleep at night to the Aeolian music.   

          The trees are gone now. They became old and grandpa thought they were a danger to the house. We open an umbrella over the table to keep off the sun, but it’s not as cool or as cozy as the trees. Nor do chimes ring and sing to us as we visit.

            The changes in the garden reflect the changes in my grandparents. They are getting older and frailer. I’m incredibly lucky to still have them, but each year I worry will be the last. I breathe a sigh of relief when winter passes into spring. They are happier and healthier in the warming summer sun. I miss the way things were.

What helps to weather the changes is seeing my son and nieces and nephews playing in my grandparents’ garden. It reminds me of the way I used to be – wild and carefree. It reminds me that life marches on. Something new and wonderful always fills the place left by something that is gone. Sharing my grandparents’ garden with the next generation is a true blessing. And, I’ve begun hanging chimes around my back porch to make my  house feel like a home.