If Only

None of them stay very long, but all three are regular visitors, and that is far more important.

I am always quite pleased when they arrive, quietly without any fanfare or invitation

I have grown to expect them on occasion, however, other visits are sometimes quite unanticipated.

Dad always comes when peaches are ripe, and whenever I buy a quart of HÄAGEN-DAZS vanilla ice cream to mix with the wondrous summer fruit.

He taught me to do that in youth long before H-D was a famous name. Instead we walked the two blocks to Brokaw’s ice cream Parlor next to the Church, ordered a pint of vanilla, and brought it home to pair with the ripe peaches Mom had found in Paddy’s Market.

These days Dad always leaves before the ice cream has melted.

Mom visits when Will automatically takes the distinctive ice cream spoons from the shelf for our Sunday treat, He remembers the story about his great grandmother sending the lovely silverware as a gift for my first wedding anniversary in Ohio.

I know she is also quite pleased not only that I took such good care of the lovely spoons, but also that her great grandson now uses one regularly

And of course, Will’s beloved “Grandpa Art” hovers often on Sunday. I believe he is chuckling in the background as Will tries valiantly to educate me weekly with PBS documentaries,

My total lack of interest in dates and much of recorded yesterdays was always something my husband, a history buff, never quite comprehended.

While I think he is pleased that Will is continuing the instruction, I am certain he also wonders if anyone will succeed where he failed,

Of course, none of my visitors express opinions, but I do like to believe I remember what they once thought, enjoyed and found amusing.

That may be wistful thinking on my part, but I rather doubt it because I never believed any of them moved very far away,

And, of course, they are always welcome even if only in memory.