The fam visits the farm...
Going to Paw Pat's house....wow that brings back the memories. This weekend we took Ethan for Paw Pat to see. Paw Pat was delighted...tickled...proud to see his baby boy's first grandson. He smiled so BIG and was sure to tell us over and over how proud he was we came to visit. He held Ethan twice...both times for a good bit. Ethan was so good for him. Those 87 year old hands were so gentle with the 3 week old boy. It was a moment in time. I wondered how long they would both be on the earth....if Ethan would ever know more than these pictures....I hope so.
As a boy going to Paw Pat and Big Grandma's was fun. The cows, the chickens, the pigs, the horses, the old house, the barn, the field, the vegetables, the chicken houses, the ponds, the fishing. Wow, what a place. There was so much to explore, so much to get into but you just didn't dare get into Big Grandma's stuff!
She died whenever I was 14 or so....it wasn't long after that that I found myself living on the farm with Paw Pat. The memories are great. We worked together, laughed together...I learned a lot about hard work, about life and about people. (we cut, raked & rolled a lot of hay!) He sang all the time...I listened and cheered. He told wild stories from his past, I asked for more. He told me of his great love for his youngest son, my dad, We became friends and have stayed that way every since. He came to our wedding in 1996 and doing that was a big deal....he doesn't do weddings.
He is a mess. He loves to tease, to play, to joke but he is affectionate, kind. I know of no one that has worked harder in his life. You cannot think of a kind of work in the woods or the fields or construction that he hasn't done at some point in his life. He worked hard his entire life, raised his kids, hunted and fished and worked those cows. He is a tough guy. That little farm in Winthrop was built by their hard work. Today it is shamefully dilapidated and in disrepair...it shouldn't be this way but it is. Long gone is the milk cow and all the other animals, the garden only grows grass and thistles and the fences are broken down, the buildings dilapidated. It is sad. I hate to see what he worked so hard at run down. It was such a busy, active, fun and exciting place.
Yet, the best thing about Paw Pat's farm is still there....Paw Pat himself. We love him a lot. H and G love him so and he clearly loves them. I know that given the chance it will be the same for Ethan.
As a boy going to Paw Pat and Big Grandma's was fun. The cows, the chickens, the pigs, the horses, the old house, the barn, the field, the vegetables, the chicken houses, the ponds, the fishing. Wow, what a place. There was so much to explore, so much to get into but you just didn't dare get into Big Grandma's stuff!
She died whenever I was 14 or so....it wasn't long after that that I found myself living on the farm with Paw Pat. The memories are great. We worked together, laughed together...I learned a lot about hard work, about life and about people. (we cut, raked & rolled a lot of hay!) He sang all the time...I listened and cheered. He told wild stories from his past, I asked for more. He told me of his great love for his youngest son, my dad, We became friends and have stayed that way every since. He came to our wedding in 1996 and doing that was a big deal....he doesn't do weddings.
He is a mess. He loves to tease, to play, to joke but he is affectionate, kind. I know of no one that has worked harder in his life. You cannot think of a kind of work in the woods or the fields or construction that he hasn't done at some point in his life. He worked hard his entire life, raised his kids, hunted and fished and worked those cows. He is a tough guy. That little farm in Winthrop was built by their hard work. Today it is shamefully dilapidated and in disrepair...it shouldn't be this way but it is. Long gone is the milk cow and all the other animals, the garden only grows grass and thistles and the fences are broken down, the buildings dilapidated. It is sad. I hate to see what he worked so hard at run down. It was such a busy, active, fun and exciting place.
Yet, the best thing about Paw Pat's farm is still there....Paw Pat himself. We love him a lot. H and G love him so and he clearly loves them. I know that given the chance it will be the same for Ethan.
posted by The Gallaghers @ 5:48 PM
1 Comments:
At 9:56 AM,
mindi11 said…
this is such a touching entry. i enjoyed reading this. Dustin is really close to his grandpa too and lived with him for quite a while, working on his land. He called him his "little pardner" and was so thrilled to meet the grandbabies too. I really hope Ethan gets several good years with his Paw Pat.
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