Walks with my Daddy

  I am writing a book of stories from my life.  It is called "Grandma's Stories."  Following is one of the stories from that book.

Walks with My Daddy

When I was about five years old, as I remember, my daddy had a very invasive and difficult surgery on his back.  Part of his recovery included going on daily, early-morning walks.  Joan and I were privileged to go with him on these early morning walks.  I remember feeling so grown up to get to go with him.  We would walk along the streets of Caldwell, going a little further each day.  Caldwell is a beautiful town, and many people took great pride in their flower gardens and yards.  I loved going along the old streets near the college.  Many grew hollyhocks.  My dad would pick some and make hollyhock dolls for us.  I found some pictures online, similar to what he would make.

This is similar, but I remember he would use another blossom to make a parasol. How I loved these beautiful dolls!

 

As his back healed and improved, he decided we should walk a lot further.  One morning, we walked clear out to Hart’s farm and back.  That was a long way for little girls (over five miles.)  I have quite a vivid memory of getting inside the front door and collapsing in the entry way when we got home from that walk.  I layed there, looking at the mock stone flooring that covered our entry up close.  I think I could draw that flooring for you, even 60 years later, as I  studied it so closely as I tried to recover from that long walk.  My mom urged me to come and eat breakfast.  I finally summoned the courage to get up and go in and eat.  Breakfast never tasted so good.

Those walks are treasured memories for me.  Unfortunately, the surgery wasn’t as successful as Dad had hoped.  His back pain continued and plagued him throughout his life.