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Sheila Harkins

Farewell to Cedartown


Warm sunny warmth

Through cold glass windows

Yeasty rolls rising in the back of the family car

Over hills and through the woods

To Grandmother’s house we go.


Anticipation of Cedartown’s delights

Found on 155 Springdale Drive

Always love and laughter,

Games, crafts and puzzles.

Always food and more food,

Our initials in pancakes, sausage patties sizzling,

Maple syrup love pouring on our plates and in our hearts.


Always opening the toy box,

Knowing exactly what to expect.


Always, always,

The lake and the ducks to be fed.

Sometimes bundling up,

Straw-like grass crunching beneath our feet.

Sometimes shorts and sandals,

Endless green grass rolling down to the water.

Rowing the boat or fishing under the tree.


Grandmother and GrandDaddy,

Pinkies linked,

Smiling as they surveyed

Their place of hospitality.

Sometimes cozy sing-alongs by the fireplace,

Sometimes cousins splashing in icy springs waters.

Sometimes bouncing around in the chevrolet Blazer


Later years, Grandmother in her chair.

Always listening,

Always present,

Always interested

In our lives and plans and dreams.

Our names on her prayer list












Long flights with eager little ones…

Over countries and through customs

To Gogo and Baba’s house we go

Always love and laughter to be found

At 209 East John Hand Rd.


Always food and more food

Always hospitality and welcome

Playing games in the sunroom

Little fish pond, gazebo, cook-outs,

Swimming pool, Picnics on the deck.


Always opening Lee’s Fort,

Knowing it will be brimming with treasures.


Always the little orange car

Zipping through the yard.

Always reading of books and

Tournaments of sports or carroms or rook,

Always, always songs around the piano,

Cousins camps and waterfights,

A place of celebration with

Love and acceptance given and felt.


Later years, Baba in the sunroom,

A room that love built,

Physical body fading away,

But love, alive and well.

Care and grace and laughter

A sacred space

As we walked the road to heaven with him.















Over the time zones

And through the memories

I have traveled to Cedartown

These last few years to a different place

700 Montgomery Ave, Apartment 3.


My Mother’s place,

A quieter space of healing and rest.

Nature and walks.

Redbirds and deer.

A place of beauty and grace.








Three different addresses in Cedartown,

Spanning decades.


As a toddler, I visited my grandparents there.

In more recent years, I have taken my toddler grandchildren to visit.


Now, a chapter closes,

My Mother is moving to a different place.

God’s leading has been sweet and gentle and clear,

It is a good next chapter.

And,

It’s okay to still travel through memories,

To be thankful for all that Cedartown has provided for my family.

To remember and rejoice.

To admit that change is complex,

To put words to this change and the grief that will accompany it.

Even as we joyfully anticipate this next season

And the treasures that await as family will be closer together.


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