As she took in the sea of family and friends and smiles and laughter, my dad stood up and greeted her. This was his first trip to Iowa in over a decade and while she has been to visit him a few times, we had not all been together in a really (really) long time.
After all the shock and surprise settled, we enjoyed pizza and sharing and lots more laughter. My darling daughter painted an original R Dickerson art piece for the occasion. Granny loves the water and boating, so this piece was well received!
Dad and his wife were able to stay for a couple days, so they came to see the new house. The corn crib was just barely finished when they were here last so there were a lot of changes to walk them through on the property. The kids showed off their rooms and even got in some football. Ben took the day off and we enjoyed bbq for lunch, Big Hero 6 on our big screen, pizza for dinner and some Monday night football! It was a good day.
The kids and I accompanied them to southern Iowa before they left the state for home. I was not allowed at my granddad's burial in 2002 and had not been able to go seek out the small country cemetery. It was more than a little emotional to finally see it, to stand at his gravestone, to photograph my children placing dandelions for a great-granddad they never met. I was also able to see the grave site for Dot, my granddad's longtime girlfriend. She was very dear to me growing up.
After our goodbyes to Granddad, we found a little park in a town nearby and enjoyed a picnic together before more goodbyes. It was a good visit, which if you've followed my story is significant. Last year's vacation to visit dad challenged and grew me more than I thought possible and gave a foundation for this visit to continue healing and developing my family's legacy.
I have realized much more, but am not ready to share it all yet. For now, I want to share a moment my dad and I shared leaving granddad's grave. He didn't want to leave, to walk away from his dad. He was leaving for home and I got the feeling he needed a goodbye. I considered singing a song or praying or sharing some scripture...but instead I asked about an Army Air Core (in WWII the Army had an Air Force division which granddad flew as a member of) poem, hymn, verse and dad shared this:
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
It was the perfect way to end our visit to the cemetery and our visit with each other.
To read more on the story behind this poem, click here.
Oh Erica. Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts, photos, and poem. Your words fill my heart and echo many of my own challenges and difficult yet worthy-of-the-effort learning experiences. Much love to you <3
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