The Cure for Loneliness

Walking into the house after a 5 week journey, I came upon a drawing. It sat on the kitchen counter, revealing a little girl, arms held out, smiling. I asked, "What's this?" to which my husband laughed and explained that the 4-year-old granddaughter had drawn a self portrait, for him.

"Grampa?" she had said, "Where is Grandma?"

"Oh - she is in England, and I am going to visit her there in 2 weeks."

"But won't you be lonely here without her?" she piped.

"Well yes, I suppose I will. But it won't be for very long."

She thought about this for a bit and then said, "I'm going to draw you my picture and leave it here so you won't be lonely."

And this, dear Readers, is the picture:

Needless to say, it is a prized possession and always will be. 

Today we drove across town in order to watch this darling for a couple of hours. The same smile shining out from the drawing above, was there on her face as we came in. "Grandma! Grampa! you CAME!"

Yes, we came. We would always come. What grandparents wouldn't?  there is always so much to see and to hear. You get to watch a small girl climbing a pole as quickly as any squirrel. You get to see that girl on a bike with no training wheels, zipping up and down the asphalt drive until you become dizzy with it all. You hear all about the latest excitement on the horizon: "I get to go to GRACIE'S house!"

She quickly showed us her newest puzzle, still in its wrapping. Her concentration was impressive as she worked out the four corners, the 'straights', and the intricacies at the center. There were ladybugs, and spiders, and bees, and wasps, and dragonflies all randomly placed, and she had it figured out in jig time. I learned that it takes me far longer to find pieces than it does a 4-year-old (and how is that fair?). But she was appropriately encouraging whenever I accidentally did come across something that 'might work'.  

In short, it was two hours of the sweetest fun!

These are the things that will always bring the SconeLady back home, after the wanderings of a true Bohemian in a foreign land. Travel has its place. Walking tours, and scone-seeking, and astonishing Cathedrals may call out and beckon this wanderer. But it is only a matter of time before the ties that bind pull me inexorably Homeward.






See you along the way!
the SconeLady

Train from St Ives to London Paddington