SNAPPING BEANS AND FAMILY

Last night my two daughters and my oldest granddaughter, Sidney, came over and had dinner with me. 

Sidney brought me a housewarming gift. It's a sweet little philodendron. She knew just what I would like. 

As I was planning to cook my eggplant tomato casserole I thought about how nice it would be to share it with them. For so many years I wasn't able to cook for them, but now that I am finally nearby I can have that family time I looked so forward to.

Since my son in law and grandson are camping out west, and Tessa is with her other grandparents while she goes to day camp, I thought it would be the perfect time for a girl's visit.

It was a simple dinner of casserole and fresh green beans with tomatoes and onions, and as I sat and snapped the green beans I thought back to sitting on the porch with my grandmother snapping beans and chatting. 

My mom was in the kitchen baking a cake for the strawberry shortcake my father would later concoct, and I can still remember the cadence of my grandmother's southern drawl as a backdrop to the sound of the snapping beans.

My grandparents and parents are all gone now and the home I grew up in burned down several years ago, but the memories will always be there. 

After dinner, last night, the four of us sat and talked about silly things we had done in the past. We were making new memories. Ones that I hope Sidney will carry with her. As we talked, I felt the past, the present, and the future all coming together in wonderful harmony. It's how life should be.