Proud Robin

Growing up, I never knew my Grandfathers. Both of them passed away while my parents were still in their teens. My mom and dad were raised by single mothers, who exemplified everything a woman and mother should be. I have great respect for my Grandmothers. Recently, however, my mind has been stirring with thoughts about my Grandfathers. I wonder if they know me. I wonder if they are proud of me. I wonder if they still possess that spry, southern sense of humor I’ve heard so much about. You may remember the post I wrote about my Grandmothers a while back. I believe our lost loved ones are never far away.

When my mom’s father died, she was only the tender age of 14. He left my Nana a young widow to care for my mom and aunt. He passed away in the fall…during a wet, and dreary time in Oklahoma. When spring rolled around, my mom noticed a robin building a nest in a tree outside of their house. Year after year, (what appeared to be) the same robin came each spring to build its nest in their tree. Thoughts of her father came to her mind as she would watch the robin. When she saw that bird, she felt as though her dad was looking out for her and checking in. The robin became a symbol for their family. My mom and aunt purchased this ceramic robin (pictured below) for my Nana as a reminder of that time. He sits proudly on my shelf, and I look at him often.

The other day, Anna and Leah were outside busy at work, building a nest for a bird to call home. It was a pile of rocks, dirt and dry grass on a cement slab. No bird was ever going to claim that as “home sweet home”. They watched throughout the day waiting for a bird to take advantage of their architectural skills. As I was cooking dinner, I heard one of the girls squeal excitedly, “Mom! There’s a robin out there! I think he’s going to use our nest!” Sure enough, I look out the window and there on the fence was sitting a proud, bright-breasted robin. I instinctively thought of my “Grandpa Key”…wondering if he was just letting my girls know someone appreciated their handiwork. You may call it a coincidence, but I call it something more special.

From what I’ve been told Grandpa Key had a very weak stomach. Imagine that…a farmer, who became queasy at the sight of blood, sores and other foul farmer dealings. When we were preparing for Raychel’s stomach tests, it required me to make a less than desirable collection of excrement. During the process, I was literally dry heaving and laughing at how silly I must look. I thought of my Grandfather and wondered if he was laughing too. I thought he would probably pat me on the back and say, “Yeah, I feel your pain! The reflex is an inherited trait.”

One snowy evening, the girls (Anna, Leah, Raychel, my mom and May) and I were traveling back from Reno. Raychel decided she needed some fries, so of course I pull over to satisfy my girl’s craving. Across the way there was “a gang of tuffs” as my dad likes to say…meaning, a group of 12-14 year old boys who think they are intimidating and menacing. I saw one reach down to the ground and pack a snowball. I kept my eye on him and mumbled, “That kid better not throw…BAM!” Snowball hit the car. Instinctively, I popped the van (yes, this is even funnier knowing this event took place in a mini van) in reverse. Instinctively, May rolled down her window and told the “tuffs” we were calling the police, and they better run because we were going to press charges (she may or may not have thrown in a few cuss words to make it sound even more convincing…hahaha!). Instinctively, my mom pulled out her phone and started pretending she was talking to the police…"I’ve got them on the line!” she yelled.” I’ve never seen a pack of boys bolt out of that parking lot as fast as they did. We sat in that spot a good 5 minutes trying to catch our breath we were laughing SO hard! I said to my mom, “I bet your dad would have done the same thing!” She goes, “Yeah, but he wouldn’t have been laughing!” HAHAHA! I still get the giggles thinking about that!

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want this day to come any time in the near future, but I’m looking forward to chatting with these men who are a part of me and learning all about them. I’m so thankful for the blessings of the Gospel that make it all possible!

The ceramic robin my mom and aunt bought for my Nana.

The robin on our fence the night Anna and Leah made the nest.

The Key Family: my mom is in the blue.