Monday, September 6, 2004

Goodbye, farm

Goodbye, place of good memories...goodbye, safe haven...goodbye, perfect place for midnight stargazing.
We went down to my grandparents' farm today for a Labor Day picnic and they broke the news to us - they're putting the farm up for sale.
(When we got down there, everyone was outside, enjoying the day...all except for my daughter who had gone down there with them last night.  Where was she?  She's my daughter, of course - inside the house, reading a book, soaking up the air conditioning!)
As my mother so gracefully put it, my grandparents are not getting any younger, and they just can't keep up two places anymore.  I just wish I had the money to buy it from them.  What really breaks my heart is the 65 acres of woodland they have...because no doubt whoever buys it will not see it as 65 acres of beautiful untouched forest...they'll only see the value of the woods as potential lumber.
I'll miss seeing my grandpa as king of all this land...I'll miss seeing deer come right up to the back porch at dusk and dawn...I'll miss the black sky and getting to see millions of stars and the Milky Way, things that my orange-horizoned city never lets me see...
I'll miss the particular grove in the woods that, for some reason, has a lot of evergreen trees and that soft, springy moss that grows beneath, it's the only place like that in the woods and so is very special...I'll miss the field in the clearing that some previous owners made, about which I alternate fantasizing about the house that I would build there, or the baseball field it would be perfect for...
I'll miss having a place to run to when life gets too overwhelming.
I'm so thankful that I knew the place, and I'm thankful for the peace it's given me.
Field of Dreams:

6 comments:

  1. (((Michelle)))  Your grandparents farm sounds beautiful.  And what beautiful memories you have, and will always have.  You never know...someone may feel the love that your grandparents did and may not touch a thing on that farm.  You can hope for that.
    I know how you feel though.  After my Grandma died, and we cleaned out the house and it was put up for sale...a peice of me was still in that house, where I played and grew up...it's only one block from our house...and when it sold, my heart broke.  They changed everything...the doors the windows the landscaping...broke my heart...but I remembered, it's now someone else's home to make their own, and to have their own memories, and their own life... We have to accept the things that we cannot change...
    (((hugs))) I know how much it hurts.
    Love, Julie

    ReplyDelete
  2. How sad! Where is the farm located? Large plots of land like that are hard to come by in many areas. -B

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is too beautiful to lose.  

    ReplyDelete
  4. (((HUGS TO YOU MY FRIEND)))
    It's a sad thing to lose something so special and close to your heart! Especially when you KNOW that nobody else will see it the way your own eyes do. It's a shame what these developers are doing to all of our beautiful land! You have the memories though, and nobody can ever take those from you!
    Hugs,
    ~Angel

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh...this is so sad, but it's so nice that you recognize your good fortune in being able to enjoy what time you had there.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a sad time for you. I think you'll always have those memories with you, and it will be special.

    ~Heather

    ReplyDelete