The simple red geranium. The simple red geranium petals can invoke a sense of childlike anticipation; such as going to the lake where I will spend time with my grandparents. Oh the excitement makes me simply giddy and brings about a smile on my face from ear to ear. I can just about feel the freshly cut grass as I run across it and feel the dock give way as I run even faster to ensure a perfect dive from the end of it into the cool lake water. Ah!! It is so cool and I am instantly feeling devoid of sweat from the long 30 mile drive with my parents and siblings in the full station wagon with the windows rolled down attempting to cool everyone off in the 85 degree heat. I see my mother and grandmother sit in the shade and begin their non-stop chatting (or is it gossip). Their eyes are not far from the shore ensuring each of is in sight. We splash and dive and rock each other off the big tractor tubes. My grandpa has cracked a beer and laughs at each of us and waits for us to tire so he can start the grill and we can have our weekly hotdogs and barbecued chicken. We each shiver out of the water and eat and do as our mother tells us, “You must wait an hour after eating before you swim.” So we find an adventure to bide our time waiting for that clock to tick down. Soon those 60 minutes has gone by and off we go into the water and at dusk the after seems warmer.
Those simple geranium petals bring back the laughter of the grandmother who held my hand and my attention as a teen and my ears as a young mother. She had a way with a geranium in the summer season and could get them to bloom in the coldest of winters. She talked to them as if they were her children, so loving and kind. I would believe the plants looked forward to coming in to tend to them just as I looked forward to visiting her or her coming to spend time with me. Be it the lake or sitting on the couch she brought out her bright, loving personality that was hard to turn away from. Her love was genuine. Even though as a child I rushed to the lake to take in the fun and excitement of the lake, it was at my grandmother’s lake home with her red geraniums wrapping around it.
So as I gaze upon a red geranium or hold the petals within my hand I hold so very close to me one very special lady, my grandmother.

A glance across the lake brings on many different feelings; excitement, remorse, and anticipation. I stood there and mainly just took in the beauty of the gift I was given and experienced the serenity of God’s landscape.  A few ducks had slid by so quietly.  I heard cars speeding  by in the distance.  Even the mosquitos tried to invade in on my moment of peace.  Standing there I slipped back to my childhood when the neighbors would head over and it was not so quiet as a football game would be held or splashing along the shore would shoo the ducks off to a nearby field.  My parents would be in the house with my dad watching a show that he would be sleeping through and my mother twisting her hair while reading a book as a load of laundry was spinning in the washing machine.  

This night though in that moment of quiet I felt that bit of excitement for one of my favorite seasons; autumn. A time when God paints some of the most beautiful tapestries for mankind to be awestruck by.  At the same time remorse comes along as summer has gone so fast and colder weather sneaks in and will rattle my older bones.  I can though anticipate celebrating Christmas where the grandchildren’s smiles will beam around the tree and my children beaming at their own children or loving on their nieces and nephews.  My heart fills with more pride as another year goes by as my children age into even more spectacular beings and my grandchildren fill my heart with more love than I ever thought it could hold.  

The time spent taking in all this beauty made my heart swell with an array of emotion; those trees in their splash of color, the mirrored water…God’s painting emotes so much beauty that carries on through to show me in my own simple life to take hold of my own life’s tapestry changes and grasp hold of the anticipation, the excitement, even the remorse.  There is simply so much beauty in life to withhold and hold within my heart.