Quilts, Tacos & Tattoos

Summer Break

Pa and Nana had a vision for the lakeside property they bought over 20 years ago. With sweat and tears they made it into "a place to give and bring life," as Nana would say.

In the early years, our various families traveled to Pa and Nana's on weekends and worked. The families dug out the cove to create the wading pool, lined its banks with railroad ties, and laid stone and granite to create a large, tiered patio for multiple tables and swings.

Nana planted an amazing garden to the left of a huge granite rock that looked like a small mountain. All my cousins and I explored "Granite Mountain" together. Granite Mountain was rounded at the top like a dome and home to lots of spiders, scorpions, rattle snakes and cactus. It was full of adventure and pain.

We used to play a game called dodge the cactus. One cousin would put the ear of a cactus on the end of a stick, then put on a blindfold, turn around in circles several times and throw the cactus. I only lost that game once and I still remember the sting.

I was carrying my plate of hot dogs with mustard and relish, a side bag of Cheetos, and equal scoops of beans and potato salad. "Mom, where are you sitting?" With all the chaos, I wanted to be close to her.

"Honey, we are all eating down by the wading pool. Just go sit down. No one's gonna bite you."

I kicked off my flip-flops, sat on the railroad ties along the water's edge and dipped my toes into it. I threw out a few crumbs from my hot dog bun to the little minnows gathered around my toes. I sensed someone coming but kept my head down hoping they would pass on by. The person stopped behind me, kicked off their shoes, sat down their empty plate and jumped into the wading pool with a splash.

"Just feel the water, the energy."

I squealed, "Aunt Julia! I am so glad to see you."

"How are you holding up?"

"The only thing I am holding is my breath." Aunt Julia waded out a little, scooped up some water in her hands and splashed her entire face.

"The water feels great."

I looked at her, taking her in and feeling so glad that she was there. I felt she was the only person who ever truly saw me. In the midst of all the family chaos, she chose to be with me.

"Tell me, would you rather swim with dolphins or turtles?" She never engaged in small talk about school or how old I was. She asked big, exciting questions that I knew had no right or wrong answer. They were just questions that connected us.

"Turtles."

"What about the dolphins?"

"I knew you would think I would pick dolphins, so I chose turtles instead."

"So, tell me about the turtles."

"I would love to travel to some exotic island and swim with giant sea turtles. Can you imagine seeing those slow, awkward creatures on land gliding through the ocean with ease and grace? To touch them and know what their skin and shell felt like would be amazing. They carry their heavy weight around on land with such limited movement, and then they move in the water with freedom."

"Great answer, Cricket! They get to experience both worlds and live with balance."

"All right, what is your favorite place in the world?"

"That is easy. Right here. Creating this wading pool is the best thing that Pa and Nana ever did. I love waking up early at Pa and Nana's and coming down here to see it full of the fish that gathered before sunrise. I sit in the swing and watch them and feel so much a peace."

"I love this whole area. We really did a good job working together. So, how was your hot dog?"

"Good. I guess. What did you eat?"

"Salad." Aunt Julia was the healthiest person I've ever known. When she was in college she took me to a little health shop that had a juicer in the back, and she ordered a fresh carrot and wheat grass juice. I had never heard of such a thing. She drank it like it was made of pure honey. She offered me a sip and I was tempted to act like Mom and refuse simply because it was different. Instead, I took a huge sip and loved the fresh earthly taste of it.

When I was five, she spent time reading to me whenever she came to visit. She explored National Geographic magazines with me and explained the stories behind the pictures - the people who lived in a forest wearing loin cloths, mothers who carried their babies on their backs in slings, the whales that were laid out on a beach and cut open. Sometimes I felt a little scared when she would read to me, but I would look at the magazines again and again, trying to understand the photographs.

"Next question...when was the last time you cried?"

"A week ago."

"Where did you last lose your keys?"

"On top of my car."

"What is your biggest fear?"

SNAP, SNAP, SNAP. My cousins, John and Bobby, were throwing snapdragons at me.

"Stop it!"

"Why? You can't make me, Cry Baby." John threw another snapdragon.

"Yeah, you can't make us," Bobby echoed.

I got up and started to chase after them. I tripped on the railroad ties and fell hard to the stone ground. I tried to catch myself, but my arm slipped off the top step and I slid down with a thud. My left ankle rolled and I heard a pop. I fell forward onto my knee and then my shoulder and my chin. I lay there for a moment, stunned and in pain. Mom came running to me.

I sat up and tried to move my foot, but couldn't. Pain shot up my leg all the way to the middle of my chin.

"Oh no! Oh no!" I started shaking.

"She needs help!" yelled Mom, and the family came running. Charlie and Pa picked me up, one on either side. I felt ridiculous. Knowing it was serious, they put me in the back of Mom's car. Nana and Aunt Julia propped my leg up on a pillow with an ice pack.

Mom drove me to the hospital. I wished Aunt Julia had come, but she did not want to leave Uncle Red, who had been drinking a lot.

After a few x-rays, I was diagnosed with a broken ankle, a fracture on my chin, and major bruising on my right knee. The doctor put a cast on my leg, and I was ordered to stay off it for two weeks. When it healed up, I'd have a walking boot for six weeks. That meant I had to wear a stupid boot for the rest of summer. It was already hot enough.

"I am not going back to the lake house," I told Mom as I looked out the window on the ride back. She did not say anything. She simply turned left on the bumpy road toward the little red house.

The merriment at the lake house would be in full swing until dark, which did not come for several hours. When we got to the little red house, Red was sitting on the porch. He had sobered up.

"Julia said I better be up here and ready to help when you got home or my ass was grass."

Mom smiled, "Thanks, Red. Let's get her inside. She's got to be tired." Mom tucked me into bed, got me a book, placed my crutches in the corner, a glass of water by my bed and then left with Red and went back to the lake house. "I'll come check on you in a bit," she called as she closed the door.

I was alone. I liked to read at bedtime to help me get sleepy, but I didn't feel like reading. I tried to get out of bed, but my leg hurt too much. The pain was shooting from my ankle to my knee. I lay back down and propped my leg and ankle up on some pillows, something Mom failed to think of. I lay there on my back and drifted off to sleep feeling there was something I was missing or forgetting.