Project 365 - Day 11

"More and more, when I single out the person out who inspired me most, I go back to my grandfather." -James Earl Jones

When we moved here almost 3 years ago now, we lived at "camp." Camp is a little bit of land owned by my family with some trailers on it. We'd hunt up here and vacation here and that is where we would stay. Through all the years of hunting and fishing here, my whole family came to love it. My grandfather especially. He and my grandmother had planned on moving up here when they retired. My grandpa was like glue that held our whole family together.. and believe me! It's a big one! So when he said that he was coming, there were many of us that were going to follow. In September 2007, my grandpa lost his second battle to cancer. I could go on all day about him, but that is another blog. He never got to move up here to the little place he fell in love with. ...Or so we thought...
My family and me moved up here the next June. Losing him was hard on us all and it was nice to be in a place that we knew he loved so much. In the mornings before it got too hot, we'd turn off the air and open the doors. We'd sit outside and drink coffee and watch Eli play. One day a butterfly came fluttering around us. He land on the table where we were sitting or somewhere close by for a minute and then fly around us a little more. Who can not look at a butterfly when it's flying by? We watched it until it was gone. Soon, almost everyone morning, the butterfly stopped by for a visit. He'd flap around for a little bit, land here and there, and then he was off again like he was just saying hello. It was like my grandpa was coming to visit us everyday and was saying hello the only way butterflies can. When we saw it coming we'd say, "Good morning, Grandpa." or mom would say ,"Good morning, Daddy." The way his wings fluttered was almost like he was saying it back. I really believe the butterfly helped the healing with all of us a little bit. And I like to think that my grandpa sent that little butterfly to us for that reason. I felt like he was there.
This is what I think of when I see butterflies. I love them and I feel happy when they are around. I think a butterfly was a good representation of my grandfather. Butterflies are free spirits and I think they was trying to tell us, "Hey! Look at me! I'm free from cancer and I got a brand new set of wings. I'm whole and I'm happy."