Apple blossom time

“Where’s Grandpa going?” Sally asked her mother.

“He’s going to sit by the apple tree, sweetheart. “

“Why?”

“It’s apple blossom time”, replied her mother wistfully.

Jack slowly walked toward the tree. He always walked slowly these days . . . ever since she left him. Well, she didn’t really mean to leave him. He knew it her time, she had been called home –

He sat down on the bench in the shade of the tree, and breathed in the fragrance of the blossoms. The memories of the love they shared for fifty years came flooding back to his mind and his heart. He remembered all the times when they sat on this bench together - when they first sat here and shared their hopes and dreams, of the time when he knelt down and proposed to her, and when he held her close while they cried at the loss of their first child. So many memories . . .

He remembered their last conversation. “I’m so tired, Jack. I’m ready to go home. I hope they have apple trees in heaven. I love apple blossoms so much”, as she gazed out the window at the old apple tree. He had them move her bed so that she could look out at the blooming tree. “Don’t say that, my love. You will start feeling better in no time. Pretty soon you will be out playing soccer with your grandsons again.” He tried so hard to encourage her and make her laugh. “Jack, the only thing I regret leaving . . . is you.” Jack wanted to cry, to scream and yell. “Addy, my love, it won’t be for long. We will be together again soon. I promise”, he calmly reassured her.

Now, a year later, Jack was the one who felt so tired. He missed his Addy. She filled his life with beauty, strength and life. Now, he felt as though the wind in his sails had died out. He ached and hurt more. Everything was such an effort. He leaned back and rested his head against the old tree, and looked at the blossoms hanging from the tree, then closed his eyes and drifted off . . .

just a story . . .