Gertie Lou & Winston & Bernice
You stand there… you sit there… you love me… and I am grateful.
Sitting resplendent in your yellow dress, you are magnificent, every ounce the Queen, though you never knew it.
Standing guard in your white uniform, you twist your hands, playing with the nails on your thumbs, ready for anything
(you were always ready for anything).
And perched on my beloved red tricycle – red and orange tassles hanging from the handlebars like streamers ready to fly off at a moment’s notice -
I ride on, bracing for whatever comes my way.
I remember many nights laying my head on your chests, nuzzled in your soft, cozy arms, delighted by your smiles, your chatter,
your instant approval.
(But make no mistake, there were scoldings, too.)
I was safe, snuggled in the warmth of you, your hand-made afghans and cozy nightgowns.
But I always had the same wish when I threw a penny in the fountain at NorthPark: that I would go first so I wouldn’t
ever, ever, ever have to find my way without you.
Even as I tried to force my cats and dogs to love each other
(figuring that if I loved them so much, they should love each other, too),
you watched patiently, amused.
You patched up my scrapes, scratches and stubbed toes when
I tangled with the wrong tree.
Now, so many years later, I know my life without your lessons of love would be bland at best.
(A dose of reality here: I was spoiled by your treats – the cream puffs, chocolate eclairs and Angel Food Cakes – thanks to you, sweets hold no allure for me as a grown woman.)
Oh, my.
You stood… you watched… you loved… and you taught.
You helped bring me to me, and for that, Gertie Lou and Winston,
I Love U 2 Pieces*.
* ” I Love U 2 Pieces” is the way Gertie Lou (seated in the yellow dress) would end her letters to my great-grandmother Bernice Ryan Mills when they wrote to one another. I just love that. *
