After a long exhausting 5 hour drive, we finally find ourselves sitting back in our seats as we make the climb up up up to the top of Massanuttin Mountain. We naturally roll down the windows to take in the cool evening mountain air and the sounds of the birds chirping. We are greeted upon arrival by the warm joyous faces of my Paw Paw and Meemaw. With his jolly face, white hair and beard he resembles a tall broad shouldered Pa Pa Smirf. With a smile like that you can not help but feel the love run through your veins right down to your soul. We get out to strongly embrace each other as we always do. Immediately your nose is filled with the mix between bursts of fresh mountain air and the burning of bug spray that they had practically bathed in before venturing into the beautiful mosquito heaven! As the evening wears on we have the usual family dinner, shower, long talks filled with laughter, then finally bed. The next morning my Paw Paw, Meemaw, and I wave a farewell to my parents as they pull out on their journey back to North Carolina. Now we will start our own journey as we stroll through the amazing gardens that fill every square foot of his beautiful estate. He has a garden for every mood, a vegetable garden, a sculpture garden, a moss garden, a zen garden, a garden surrounding the coy pond, a japanese garden, and the list goes on and on as you tour his property that spans approximately 40 acres. The first couple of days are always nice, we walk, we talk, we swim, we do anything we please as I settle into my yearly summer escape! Then following my relaxing days comes the days of work. Being a very successful, active, and determined man my Paw Paw will always put empty hands to work. So we gather our tools, fertilizers, transplanted flowers, plenty of bug spray and water. We make slow intentional strides as we approach the golf cart (our chariot for the day) and anticipate the hot day of work ahead of us. He speaks with a very deep voice. It is very stern but at the same time gentle and guiding. He gives me specific instruction of my duties for the day as I innocently gaze at him through my eager 16 year old eyes. He is my hero, my inspiration, my every dream sitting right beside of me. We make our way around the gardens one at a time carefully and precisely trimming and nurturing each and every plant, flower, shrub, and tree. Not one pedal untouched, not one plant left the same. He always told me this is my paradise, this is my kingdom, I am the master, I care for every piece of life in this place no matter how big or small. The days wear on and the sweat pours daily. I stay by his side out of love and respect. I do no have even the slightest understanding of why he does this everyday but I am patient in hopes of one day figuring it out. Of course I know its beautiful and peaceful however, why everyday tend to every individual bit of life so thoroughly? Why is this the center of everything he does? What keeps him going so passionately? He is a God fearing man. He will admit to many wrong doings in his long life and will gladly share with anyone the endless love of Christ. He seems to connect God with his gardening in some silly way that to me has never quite added up. Which not really understanding either one I believe I was lost before I ever started. As my next day began I had a sense that I was catching on, getting a little more confident like I was finally falling into his groove and feeling more of a sense of belonging instead of feeling completely lost. We talked more and more each day. I would love to share with you the life changing talks we had but unfortunately I honestly only remember bits and pieces. I cannot put into words the life lessons he taught me over the many years growing up, some were taught with no words at all. As I worked my fingers into the warm dirt I got a feeling of brief connection with the Earth, with mother nature, with the beauty that God created. Many people in their busy lives, miss this simple, natural beauty. I had also been one of those people until now. This is the moment in which I had first began to understand the passion my Paw Paw had for gardening. The more I thought about the connection with Earth, the less I dreaded the daily hours of sweating under the heavy sun. As the days went on with every beautiful horizon of sunrise and sunset I began to understand and share the feeling of peace that my Paw Paw has always poured out on everyone he comes in contact with. Every evening we would make our way to the vegetable garden. This was when we could take a deep breath and exhale all of the pains of the day. We would sit back on the golf cart and it felt like we would just completely melt down into the seats! As he jokingly instructed "we shall pick only the best of the best vegetable for miss fran!" (Meemaw). As we would carefully pick each snap pea, squash, ear of corn, tomatoes etc. we of course had to taste test each one to ensure they were of top quality. Through the day we would also pick fresh berries to take back to the house. Of course only about 1/3 of the pickings would actually make it back to the house. There was always an empty bucket on the golf cart for this very reason. When we returned to the house Meemaw would be preparing dinner. As you walked in the house you could not help but notice the warm comforting aroma that filled the house. As you exhaled you would feel a natural feeling of peace and instant relaxation. It was so beautiful! These are the memories I can only dream about anymore as my Paw Paw sadly passed away in late 2009 due to cancer. However, I do not believe he "lost the battle" with cancer I believe God decided it was time for him to simply return home and tend to his gardens there. I still go visit my Meemaw that I love very dearly! It just will never be the same with him not being there to embrace me with a strong hug accompanied by the burning smell of bug spray that rushes up your nose.