To be loved unconditionally. A gift that no one can ever take away from you.
The man whom I called “little father” was taken from me just as I stepped from childhood into my teens. I miss him so. Yet his boundless, generous love is mine still, many years after I could sprint down the stairs to greet him at the end of a hard’s day work, to be enveloped in the warmth of his arms, my cheek grazed by the familiar stubble as I reached in for a kiss. His hands smelt of fresh-cut grass… the scent of the earth in his hair.
He taught me to delight in the simplest of pleasures: a loaf of bread fresh out the wood-burning bowls of a clay furnace, the feel of the grassland against my bare feet, the smell of mushrooms picked in the woodlands, the white froth atop the mug of milk that was mine every morning. Summers turned into autumns under the mellow sun of my childhood, winds caressed my hopeful imaginings, rains cooled my fears and everywhere was peace and contentment.
I grew up at his side, a free wild thing with boyish ways, a pixy spirit. There were treasured mornings when he would bundle me up onto the back of his horse at dawn and we would take to the fields.
I remember standing in the middle of a field peppered by the early buds of spring, breathing in deep the silence and making a wish that I would never forget that moment. Perhaps I intuited that memory is untrustworthy, that time can steal what it had once gifted freely. Perchance I foresaw a day in the far distant future – for the future is always at a distance to a child’s heart – when I would need to come back to that moment of stolen bliss.
vic briggs 
It’s never easy to lose someone you love, but just remember that you are their legacy. 🙂 He still lives through you, and experiences everything you do. ❤
Thank you. You are right. He is with me still. Everything that he gifted me I have done my best to nurture and keep alive.
Wonderful post, Vic, and such a beautiful tribute to someone you love. Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us all.
Thank you, Ann. He still visits me in my dreams sometimes. I am glad when he does, but the feeling of loss is renewed with the arrival of the morning. I was lucky to have him in my life. I only wish I did not lose him quite so soon.
I can relate, Vic (even though I never knew either of my grandfathers). Thank you so much.
Beautiful memories which will stay with you forever. A post full of sentiment.
They will, Chris, thank you.
Lovely post full of memories.
Thank you, April. They are very fond memories.
You’ve made me blubber hopelessly… 😀
Great way to remember your “little father” I say! Bravo. I know I’ll never forget my paternal grandfather and the massive impact he made on my family and my own life.
With love and peace and healing and friendly mental hugs,
~ Adam ~ King Pollux
Aww Adam, thank you. I am glad that my post has reminded you of someone you love and whose memory you cherish. It is good to remember.
I was a grandfather’s girl too. I miss him still. Thanks for a moving piece.
BB
A grandfather’s girl – yes indeed, we have this in common. Sometimes I think it impossible to fill the gap he left in my life, but having known him it makes me remember not to take for granted those loved ones who are still with me. Thank you for your lovely comment. Warm regards,
Vic
Beautiful…Nice tribute. We honour our departed loved ones by calling to mind the good memories of time spent with them
Although it has been many a year since I lost him, the memory of him is as alive and vivid to me today as it was on the last day I said goodbye. Thank you.
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