温馨夜读II PART2 5.Grandpa’s Valentine

[00:00.74]5.Grandpa’s Valentine [00:05.97]I received a call from the nursing home. [00:09.45]Grandpa was failing rapidly. I should come. [00:13.60]There was nothing to do but hold his hand. [00:16.72]“I love you, Grandpa. Thank you for always being there for me.” [00:22.17]Memories...memories...six days a week, [00:26.21]Grandpa in that old blue shirt caring for those cattle...on hot summer days plowing the soil, [00:33.91]planting the corn and beans and harvesting them in the fall...always working from dawn to dusk. [00:39.90]Survival demanded work, work, work. [00:43.61]But on Sundays he put on his gray suit and hat. [00:47.52]Grandma wore her wine-colored dress and ivory beads, and they went to church. [00:53.29]Grandpa and Grandma were quiet, peaceful, unemotional people. [00:58.19]The nurse apologized for having to ask me so soon to remove Grandpa’s things from the room. [01:05.49]It would not take long. There wasn’t much. [01:08.76]Then I found it in the top drawer of his nightstand. [01:13.33]It looked like a very old handmade valentine. [01:17.58]What must have been red paper at one time was a streaked faded pink. [01:22.92]A piece of white paper had been glued to the center of the heart. [01:27.49]On it, penned in Grandma’s handwriting, were these words: [01:32.17]TO LEE FROM HARRIET [01:35.98]With All My Love, [01:37.94]February 14, 1895 [01:43.38]Are you alive? Real? Or are you the most beautiful dream that I have had in years? [01:51.77]Are you an angel — or a figment of my imagination? [01:56.12]Someone I fabricated to fill the void? To soothe the pain? [02:01.46]Where did you find the time to listen? How could you understand? [02:06.69]You made me laugh when my heart was crying. [02:10.39]You took me dancing when I couldn’t take a step. [02:14.64]You helped me set new goals when I was dying. [02:18.45]You showed me dew drops and I had diamonds. [02:22.80]You brought me wildflowers and I had orchids. [02:27.71]You sang to me and angelic choirs burst forth in song. [02:32.60]You held my hand and my whole being loved you. [02:37.18]You gave me a ring and I belonged to you. [02:41.10]I belonged to you and I have experienced all. [02:45.89]Tears streamed down my cheeks as I read the words. [02:50.80]I pictured the old couple I had always known. [02:54.73]It’s difficult to imagine your grandparents in any other role than that. [02:59.98]What I read was so beautiful and sacred. [03:03.81]Grandpa had kept it all those years. [03:06.98]Now it is framed on my dresser, a treasured part of family history.

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