It was the garden steps up to Grandma's front door,

the only one in the family with a green thumb.

It was Grandma's cabin every Holiday,

the sunlight off of the golden Cedarwood in the mornings

It was the adults going cross country skiing, 

having to stay back with my cousins because we were not big enough. 

It was sitting next to grandma while playing Spoons and Dominos, 

not knowing how to play, that didn't matter. 

It was gathering around the Christmas tree, 

presents piled taller than I was. 

It was the smell of a Thanksgiving dinner, 

nothing could beat dinner at grandmas. 

It was the late nights of happiness, 

because at grandmas there was no bedtime. 

It was the early morning trip to the Amish bakery, 

smelling the freshly baked bread from outside.

It was the fear of a disease I didn't know, 

visiting grandma at UW Cancer center at Prohealth care. 

It was the for sale sign outside the home that held our family,

becoming the home that is no longer ours 

It was a phone call from my uncle on the everyday drive home from school,

knowing something was wrong by my mother's face.

It was my first funeral 

My heart falling to my feet looking up to seeing nothing but faces full of tears 

It is memories from these times 

holding our family together each family gathering.

It is wishing we could go back 

But we can no longer walk the garden steps up to grandma's house.