Grannyma was an older lady with short brown hair that was gradually turning to silver. She wore wire-framed glasses that often slipped down her nose. Grannyma was just like any one of millions of other older ladies with silvering brown hair and slipping glasses. In fact, she was not even Grannyma until something very, very special happened to her. You see one day, Grannyma, who was not yet Grannyma, was given a beautiful, exquisite gift of perfection by her daughter and son-in-law. She was given a granddaughter. That granddaughter was named Joon; and Grannyma, who had not yet been Grannyma, became Grannyma! That sweet granddaughter became Grannyma’s Jooniebug and Jooniebug and Grannyma got to spend many sweet hours together. As Jooniebug got a little older, she would often spend the night with Grannyma
Now Grannyma was very interested in learning about her own grandma and grandpa and great, great aunts and great great, great uncles and cousins of every kind, and every kind of family member imaginable! Many of them had lived and died years and years ago. She loved telling stories about those people to Jooniebug. She had been telling Jooniebug these stories for as long as Jooniebug could remember. Grannyma would tell Jooniebug about how her great, great grandparents had lived in Kentucky in the mountains of Appalachia. The Appalachian Mountains is a very, very long chain of mountains that goes all of the way from Canada, down the eastern part of the United States all of the way to Alabama!
Grannyma would tell Jooniebug of her family that had once lived there in the mountains. Grannyma would tell Jooniebug of ancestors who came from across the ocean centuries before; from Scotland, Ireland, England and many other places. Grannyma would share with Jooniebug all that she knew of their ancestors and Jooniebug was a good listener.
One day Jooniebug told Grannyma that she wished that they could go to all of the places that their ancestors had once lived. She was curious about where her family had come from and she wanted to see those places. Grannyma thought a moment, pushed her glasses up her nose and told Jooniebug, “Tomorrow night, when you come to spend the night with me, after we are in bed for the night, we will take a little trip, Sweetie.” Grannyma, said her goodbyes, gave Jooniebug a kiss and a squeezy hug and then left to go to her home.
Jooniebug, was doubtful. Bedtime did not seem to be the time to travel; and they were going to travel far, far away…maybe even across the ocean! Jooniebug knew though, that if Grannyma said something, that something was true; and so Jooniebug went to help her momma make biscuits.
The next day, Jooniebug could hardly wait for her momma to drop her off at Grannyma’s house! She wondered where they would be going at bedtime. She wondered how they would stay awake to take such a long, long trip when it was bedtime and time to sleep. Jooniebug’s mind wondered and wondered and she got more and more excited as she went into Grannyma’s house.
As soon as Joonieug saw Grannyma, she hugged her neck and whispered into her ear, “Grannyma, where will we be going tonight at bedtime? How long will it take to get there? How will we stay awake? Will we be back home before it is time to wake up? Is it bedtime yet?” With each question, Jooniebug’s excitement grew and her whisper became just a bit louder and louder until she was talking quite loudly and hopping with excitement!
Grannyma laughed, pushed her glasses back up her nose and said, “Jooniebug, before you take any trip, you have to prepare. We cannot go anywhere until we prepare for our journey. First, we will need some energy so we must have some supper. A car does not run without gas in the tank; and people do not go without food in their tummies!”
Grannyma took Jooniebug’s hand and led her into the kitchen. “How about some nice homemade vegetable soup and a nice piece of hot buttered cornbread, Jooniebug? Does that sound like a nice supper Darlin’?”
Jooniebug loved Grannyma’s homemade vegetable soup and she readily agreed that that would be a very, very nice supper. As Jooniebug anticipated her delicious supper, the thought of their trip settled a bit further back in Jooniebug’s mind. She waited patiently for Grannyma to heat up some of her soup and cornbread for their supper.
Jooniebug got the tub of butter out of the fridge and a butter knife and spoons from the silverware drawer and sat out napkins from the napkin basket at their seats at the table. She got a plastic cup from a lower cupboard where Grannyma kept things so that Jooniebug could reach them. She carefully got a cup of water from the refrigerator door and carefully carried it to the table to sit at her place. Jooniebug then sat at the table and waited for Grannyma.
After a couple of minutes that seemed ever longer, Grannyma brought two bowls of soup and sat them on the table. She then went back to the stove and carried two small plates with cornbread on them to the table. She got a glass out of an upper cupboard and poured herself a glass of iced tea with lemon.
Then she sat down next to Jooniebug and buttered their cornbread while it was still warm. For a few moments, Grannyma and Jooniebug enjoyed their soup and bread, but as Jooniebug’s tummy became more full, the thought of their journey crept closer and closer to the front on her mind. Jooniebug began asking question after question of Grannyma. Grannyma smiled and told her, “Now Jooniebug, I’m gonna have to tell you somethin’ that my dad told me that his dad used to say when there was too much talkin’ and not enough eatin’ at the table. Let your vittles stop your mouth! Now my dad’s dad would have been your great, great grandpa. His name was Dave Smith and he was a wonderful, kind and smart man. I think that we should follow his advice, don’t you?”
“Yes Grannyma, I reckon so.”
And so they finished their soup and Grannyma gave Jooniebug a homemade soft sorghum cookie and a small glass of milk for dessert. “Your momma likes these cookies, Jooniebug. She likes to drink a glass of buttermilk when she eats them. These cookies are a favorite of your Great Grandpa Smith’s too. They are made from sorghum. Back when your great grandpa was growin’ up, there might not be sugar in the house, but they usually had sorghum and the Smith family sure loves their sweets!
Folks often grew some sorghum cane back when your great grandpa was a boy. That is a type of cane that they could grind with a mill to squeeze the juice out. A mule would pull a wooden arm around and around as someone would feed the cane into the mill. The mill would squeeze all of the juice out of the cane. The squeezed cane would provide a treat for the mule and the juice would be boiled and boiled in very, very large pans until it became a thick syrup. You have seen me make these cookies before and you have seen the sorghum that I put into them. That sorghum is what you get after that juice is boiled and boiled until it gets nice and thick. I think that that sorghum makes these cookies taste especially delicious, don’t you?”
Jooniebug had her mouth full of cookie so she just nodded in agreement.
After dessert was finished, Grannyma and Jooniebug both said “thanks God” and then Grannyma took the dishes to the sink and rinsed them off. She opened the dishwasher and placed them inside. As she did, she said, “You know Jooniebug, my own sweet grandma, she would be your Great, Great Grandma, she used to have a lot harder time to wash her dishes. She didn’t have electricity or water that came straight into her house when she was young. She had to draw water from a well and then she had to heat that water on top of a coal burnin’ stove that was in the middle of her livin’ room, or the front room as she might have called it. She had to wait until that water was hot enough and then she could put some in a wash pan with some soap and dirty dishes. She’d scrub her dishes clean. She might need to heat more than one bucket of water because she had seven young’uns and would’ve had a lot of dirty dishes. After she washed them, she would have to draw more water to rinse them with. She would probably let the hot water cool and use it to water her flowers that she had planted around her house. She had hollyhocks in her yard, and your great grandpa says that she used to grow Dahlias too. He says that those dahlias could get big as a dinner plate. Can you imagine a flower as big as a dinner plate! Why that’s as big as a sunflower, your Aunt Alex’s favorite flower! She also grew tiny, colorful moss roses in planters made from old tires.
I reckon that we have just gotten spoiled with all of these modern conveniences like hot and cold water comin’ right into the sink in our house; and we can just put our dirty dishes into the dishwasher! I reckon that I am glad that we are spoiled! It gives us more time to go on adventures, doesn’t it, Jooniebug?”
Jooniebug laughed and agreed and excitedly asked if it was bedtime yet. Grannyma smiled and said, “Why Jooniebug, it is not even 6 o’clock, are you not feelin’ well? You usually don’t want to go to bed so early. Why sometimes, it is a downright chore to get you into bed! Oh, I know that you are excited to go on our journey, but we still have to prepare. A good journey begins with good preparation! So let’s go on up into the family room, Darlin’. We have some preparin’ to do.”
Grannyma once again took Jooniebug by the hand and Jooniebug led her up a few stairs and into the family room. There on the table in front of the couch were a few books that were not usually on the table. There was a pad of plain white paper and a big box of crayons too. Jooniebug did not understand how books, a drawing pad and crayons could prepare them for their trip, but Grannyma seemed to think that it would and Jooniebug knew that if Grannyma thought so that it probably was so!
Grannyma and Jooniebug sat on the couch in front of the table and Grannyma reached for a book on the table. She settled back on the couch and Jooniebug nestled into her side under her arm. Grannyma, opened the book and Jooniebug saw that it was a book full of pictures, beautiful pictures. The pictures were of beautiful hills; big, big hills. One picture showed the hills in summer. The trees were green, myriad shades of green. Some were a pale, pale green, others were yellowish green. Grannyma called that color chartreuse. Jooniebug had never heard that word, but she liked the sound of it so she stored it away in her memory. There were dark, dark greens and greens that almost looked blue. The hills looked like a patchwork quilt like the ones on Grannyma’s beds. This quilt was made in shades of green.
Grannyma turned the page and as she did, she told Jooniebug that this book had pictures of parts of the Appalachian Mountains in it. Grannyma told Jooniebug about how many of her ancestors had lived in those mountains at one time. Jooniebug knew that ancestors are family members who are no longer alive, but they live on in our memories and through us.
Jooniebug used to be kind of afraid of the ancestors, but Grannyma told her that they had loved just like Grannyma loves; and just like Grannyma, they would never have done anything to harm her. Just like Grannyma, they would’ve done anything they could to keep Jooniebug safe. So the ancestors became like Grannyma in Jooniebug’s mind. Grannyma loved the ancestors and so it must be the right thing to do. Jooniebug would love them too! Grannyma told Jooniebug that her smile reminded Grannyma of her Great Aunt Cleo’s smile. So in a way, Great Aunt Cleo lived on through Jooniebug’s smile!
The next page showed a lovely mountain stream flowin’ through the trees. Grannyma told Jooniebug to look at how beautiful that stream was and she asked her to imagine how the sound of it making its way down the hill would have been like a lovely soothing music. Another page had a picture of a small house made all of tree trunks. Grannyma called this little house a cabin. She told Jooniebug that many of her ancestors had cut down trees in the forest and made such cabins for their families to live in. Some of them had even lived inside trunks of huge hollowed out trees!
Another page showed the mountains in the fall. Nature had changed the patchwork quilt from the one made from shades of green to one made with the colors of fall! There were still the greens of cedars and the blue greens of the pines, but now there were fiery scarlets and deep reds, brilliant golds and yellows, pumpkin oranges and some plain browns. The colorful patchwork awed Jooniebug with its beauty.
Grannyma laid down the mountain book and picked up another. This book had pictures of beaches. The beaches were covered with sand. Some of the beaches were narrow and at the bottom of steep faces of rock and large rocks were scattered all about the beach. The waves looked rough and you could almost see the movement of them and hear the crash as those waves pummeled the rocks. Other beaches were wide and white with blue green water that seemed to gently caress the sand. She could see shells scattered here and there along the white sands. Other pages showed the ocean from above. Most of these pages were mainly water. In some of them, a beach could be seen in the distance. In some of them, seagulls could be seen flyin’ above the water. All of them featured the ocean in some way.
Grannyma put the ocean book aside and picked up a book that had a map on the cover. Grannyma told her that it was a map of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Grannyma told Jooniebug that some of her ancestors had come to America from these countries many, many years ago.
There had been no airplanes back then and of course they could not walk or ride there; and it was too, too far to swim! They had to travel by ship across the ocean to land in America. Grannyma told her that those ships may have seemed big to the ancestors, but compared to the large cruise ships of today, they were really quite small. These ancestors had dared to board a ship, leave the home they knew, and cross the vast ocean to reach a place they knew very little about. Grannyma paused in thought for a moment after she told Jooniebug that last bit. She pushed her glasses back up her nose and then said, “Just imagine that Jooniebug! Just imagine leavin’ everything you know to get on a small ship and sail across the ocean. Imagine bein’ inside of this ship for long weeks at a time! Imagine goin’ up on deck and the only sight you could see in every direction for weeks on end was ocean! Imagine bein’ on that small ship as it was tossed around by storms and wonderin’ if today would be your last day! What could make a person leave the home that they had known to risk all of that? I don’t know Jooniebug, it seems that things would have to be so very, very bad at home, or you would have to have a mighty strong case of wanderlust to be able to do that! Either way, I think that our ancestors were very special people, Jooniebug! Don’t you?”
Jooniebug nodded with wide eyes and answered Grannyma with her own question, “What is wanderlust, Grannyma?”
Grannyma thought for a moment and then told her that wanderlust was a strong urge to travel to new places, to see new things, to experience new experiences. Then she said, “Why Jooniebug, I reckon that your ancestors are livin’ on through you in another way besides Aunt Cleo’s smile! You have wanderlust just like they did! Why, all of these years later, after their wanderlust brought them to America, your wanderlust is makin’ you want to travel to see where they came from! Yes Jooniebug, I reckon that you are a chip off of the old ancestor block!”
Grannyma opened the United Kingdom book and there was a beautiful picture on the page. It was a picture that had ocean waves breaking against rock cliffs. The cliffs were met by rolling hills of the most beautiful deep green, The hills were adorned with boundaries of lush trees that surrounded verdant fields polka-dotted with sheep. Grannyma told Jooniebug, “This is Ireland Darlin’. Several of your ancestors came from here. My mother’s Nolen and the Flanary families had folks that came from Ireland hundreds of years ago. Ireland is called the Emerald Isle. You know that emeralds are a beautiful shade of green, so I imagine that you can figure out why the Emerald Isle is such a good name for Ireland. Just look at all of that lushness!”
Grannyma continued to page through the book and they saw many beautiful photos of Ireland. When they came upon the next section, it had pictures of Scotland.
Scotland was as beautiful as Ireland, but Scotland’s beauty seemed to be rougher around the edges. It had lots of green also, but it also had lots of mountains. Those mountains were not as welcoming as the mountains of the Appalachians. They were starker, rockier and did not have many trees. There were several castles scattered across Scotland and many lakes, as well. Grannyma told Jooniebug that a lake was called a loch in Scotland. She told Jooniebug that some folks claimed that one of those lochan held a mysterious, elusive water creature. This creature lived in Loch Ness and the creature was given the name Nessie.
Grannyma told her that Jooniebug’s dad had said that members of his family had come from Scotland. Grannyma told Jooniebug that many families in Scotland had special plaid fabric made into specific designs just for their families. Special skirt-like clothing called kilts might be worn by some men on special occasions. These kilts would be made from the special plaid fabric, or tartan, designed for their family. Jooniebug’s eyes were huge as she asked Grannyma if her daddy really wore a skirt sometimes! Grannyma told her that she had never seen her daddy wear a kilt, but if his ancestors came from Scotland, it was a sure thing that some of his ancestors had.
Grannyma paged through the book until they came upon the pages showing England. There were pictures of countryside that looked quite similar to the photos of Ireland. Rollin’ fields of green were dotted with sheep. Fencerows seemed to be made of stone fences, shrubbery and trees. There was a picture of very large rocks standin’ alone in the middle of a field. Grannyma called these rocks Stonehenge. There were photos of villages with rows of stone houses. There was a photo of a large building with a closet-sized covered structure standing in front of it. In front of this small structure stood a man with a very tall, fluffy lookin’ hat. Jooniebug giggled and Grannyma told her that this man was a palace guard and he was guarding the Queen of England’s palace in London. Jooniebug giggled again thinking of a man wearing such a silly looking hat guarding a queen!
Grannyma pulled a loose piece of paper from between the pages in the back of the book and showed it to Jooniebug. It was a picture of a castle made from stone. Grannyma said, “Jooniebug, this is a picture of the Belsay Castle in Northumberland, England. Northumberland is in the northern part of England and borders Scotland. This castle once belonged to the Middleton family. Great Great Grandma Nancy Smith was a Middleton before she married Great Great Grandpa Dave Smith. This castle in England used to belong to your great, great grandma’s ancestors; your ancestors.
“Now, Jooniebug, that’s enough of books for the moment. Now, I want to see if you can use your crayons to draw some pictures of what you have seen. Did you pay attention to the pictures in the books we just looked at? Can you use your memory and imagination to draw a few pictures of what we could see on our journey?”
Jooniebug knelt on the floor in front of the table, tore a sheet of drawing paper from the pad and picked up a crayon. She exclaimed excitedly, “I think that I can Grannyma! I am not the best drawer, but I think that I can!” And Jooniebug began coloring her first picture.
Jooniebug colored one picture and then tore another sheet from the pad. She continued coloring and coloring until she had four or five pictures. She picked up her pictures, stood and walked back to sit on the couch next to Grannyma.
Grannyma looked closely at each picture. Jooniebug was only five, but Grannyma could see what Jooniebug had been trying to draw in each of the pictures. Grannyma put the pictures down and drew Jooniebug close in a squeezy hug as she said, “You colored some wonderful pictures Darlin’. I think that you are a much better drawer than you think you are! Who knows, you may grow up to be an artist some day! Jooniebug, our preparations are complete for now. It is time to get ready for bed.”
Jooniebug, jumped up and grabbed Grannyma’s hand to help her up from the couch. Grannyma, we better hurry, we have wanderlust and we have gotta get ready to go on our journey!”
Grannyma picked up the mountain book as she and Jooniebug made their way upstairs. She put the book on Jooniebug’s bed. She grabbed some sleep clothes from a drawer in the chest and then led Jooniebug into the bathroom.
Jooniebug usually loved to stay in the bath and play with her lego family as she bathed, but tonight she finished in record time. Grannyma helped her out of the tub and handed her a towel. She helped to dry her back and her hair and then she helped her to put on her sleep clothes. Grannyma sprayed a little detangler into Jooniebug’s hair and combed her hair using a wide toothed comb. Then Jooniebug reached for her toothbrush and Grannyma put a bit of toothpaste on in for her. Jooniebug carefully brushed her teeth, rinsed out her toothbrush and rinsed out her mouth. She then turned and reached for Grannyma’s hand to pull her toward her bed in the bedroom. Grannyma picked up the book, pulled back the covers and Jooniebug crawled under them, scooting over so that Grannyma could lie beside her.
“Okay Grannyma, I am ready for our journey! Let’s go please!”
But Grannyma reminded her that she needed to say her prayers. She told her that it was especially important to remember your prayers before going on a journey. So, Grannyma and Jooniebug lay quietly for a few moments. Jooniebug said amen and waited quietly for Grannyma to do the same. It always took Grannyma longer to finish her prayers than it did for Jooniebug. Sometimes Jooniebug wondered if she was doing it right, but Grannyma had told her that there really was not a wrong or a right way when it came to talking to God. The main thing was that you talk to Him and talk to Him often.
As soon as Jooniebug heard Grannyma say amen, she asked if it was time to start their journey. She asked if they should get out of bed again and go; but Grannyma reassured her that they would not have to get out of bed to begin their journey. Grannyma opened the book and told Jooniebug that the book would help them to start their journey. She opened the book to one of the pictures of the mountains. This was the picture with the quilt made from shades of green on the mountains.
Grannyma, held the book in front of them, but she asked Jooniebug to close her eyes and imagine all of those pictures she had seen earlier that evening. Jooniebug closed her eyes for a moment and then peeked to see what Grannyma was doing. Grannyma’s eyes were closed too so Jooniebug quickly closed her eyes again and began to think of the pictures she and Grannyma had seen.
Grannyma began talking, reminding Jooniebug of the pictures. “Can you picture the picture we just saw Jooniebug? Can you see that quilt made of shades of green that covers that mountain. Do you see that in your mind Jooniebug?”
Jooniebug did see that mountain in her mind. She did see that quilt made of shades of green. She grabbed Grannyma’s hand and told her that she did see it. She told her that she even saw those yellow green chartreuse trees!
Grannyma gently squeezed Jooniebug’s little hand and said, “That is wonderful Sweetie! Now, let’s move on through those mountains a little further. I hear that stream that was rollin’ over the rocks down the mountain. I can hear that sweet music that it makes as it tumbles down the mountain. Can you hear that sweet music Jooniebug? Can you Darlin’?”
Jooniebug could hear the music of that stream; she really, really could! She told Grannyma, “Grannyma, I can hear it!”
“Okay Jooniebug, our journey has begun! Now, let us see where we will go!” And Grannyma began to talk to Jooniebug in a singsong rhythmical way:
Jooniebug, Jooniebug, won’t you come with me;
Won’t you come with Grannyma to see what we can see?
We can fly over the rooftops, over the streets, over the cars,
Where will Jooniebug and Grannyma go; just where and how far?
We can fly over the grocery here, and over the bookstore there;
We will fly over the library and end up, only we know where!
And when we get hungry and our tummies begin to rumble;
We will light on the ground with a gentle heels-over-head tumble!
We will snack on carrots and celery, broccoli and cauliflower too;
We’ll top that off with ice cream before flying off to somewhere new!
We will continue on our way until the cars and roads are few;
We will fly over lush fields of green and beautiful trees too,
We will fly over rivers and streams toward the distant mountains blue.
We will fly toward that majesty with a path so straight and true
‘Til we will have to fly high to make it over those mountains tall
But before we journey upward, we must heed the mountains’ call.
We must light in those mountains and stroll where our ancestors strolled,
We will appreciate the beauty they knew; and where they toiled, we’ll loll!
And when the peace of that haven has completely filled our souls,
We will fly on eastward, until ocean waves the wind does roll.
And there, weary from our travels we will light on sun-warmed sands
Until, Jooniebug, we are beckoned once more by the call from faraway lands.
Then we will fly together, Jooniebug, across the ocean vast and blue
We will fly alongside gulls and albatross on our path straight and true.
Centuries ago our ancestors crossed those waves in the opposite way,
They left the old familiar land for a new land where they could stay.
We will soar until we come to the old lands where our forebears once roamed,
There in Ireland we may run into a leprechaun and we’ll kiss the Blarney Stone!
And we will veer North on up to Scotland before travelin’ South again,
We’ll hear the drone of bagpipes and perhaps see a kilted McCommon man!
Then South over Britain, we’ll gaze upon mysterious and ancient Stonehenge
Before flying over Belsay Castle, ancestral home of our Middleton kin.
And the exertion of our travels along with the excitement of scenes admired
Will make our limbs grow heavy and we will realize that we are tired.
And our eyelids will grow heavy too and slowly close upon our cheeks,
And we will dream of the wonders we have seen and the others we shall seek.
Grannyma had heard the sound of Jooniebug’s breathing slow and deepen slightly, She opened her eyes and very quietly got out of bed. Grannyma leaned over and gave Jooniebug a gentle kiss upon her cheek before whispering, “Good night sweet Jooniebug. Thank you for goin’ on our journey with me. May we always have such beautiful adventures.”
Grannyma turned off the bedside lamp and slipped out the bedroom door, closing it quietly behind her.
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