Are We There Yet

ARE WE THERE YET

I felt the car slow down then pull off the road into the driveway. As I heard the gravel popping under the tires I somehow knew we were there. After riding in the back set of the old Chevy that belonged to my daddy for the last One hundred eighty five miles. I was now standing up trying to see over the back seat. I had asked at least fifty times are we there yet and daddy would always say we will be there in a little while. As I begin trying to wake my brother up letting him know we are here! Looking through the windshield of the car sure enough there was
Grandma’s house!

Wake up I begin to say to him as he was trying to get his eyes to focus the sun was just beginning to rise over the hills as I wanted out of that car.
My daddy saying to me something about holding on just a minute, it had been all most a year since I had seen my Grandma and my Grandpa let alone got to play in the barn! As the back car door came open I bailed out running past my daddy straight to the front porch of the old house that stood there so proud, my feet hitting the porch step I looked up to find Grandma standing there saying you all come on in the house!

Wrapping her arms around me with a hug that almost squeezed the life out of me. As my little brother was trying to catch up my momma helping him manage the steps. I love you Grandma I said! Her smile would melt butter on a cold biscuits I love you to She replied.
Racing through the door I began to cry out to Grandpa as he was standing there with
His arms wide open saying where have you been so long my boy I sure have missed you!
It was always good to be there, the smell of the old wood stove even Grandma’s cook

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stove burned wood and she always kept it hot ready to make a meal for her family!
Leaving momma and daddy to the small talk I was out the back door. Standing there on the back porch I would take in the scene eighty acres of prime Farm land just waiting for me and my little brother. By the way where was he I hadn’t even gotten off the back porch yet surely I haven’t lost him already! We had all kinds of things to do here and we had been waiting all summer to get here. Looking back through the screen door I yelled to him, come on you got to see this!

There standing across the fence was the biggest and most beautiful black horse
I had ever seen. My little brother had now caught up with me; can we ride him he asked?
I don’t know I said but before we leave here we are going to try.

Off the porch and through the gate we ran never missing a step all the way to the barn!
There was no place in the world like the barn at Grandpa’s house it was huge!
We manage to some how climb the ladder to the loft there we would play in the hay.

Below us were cows horses and off to our left were even some hogs! Man we had it all. And this to a pair of seven and ten year old boys was like being in heaven itself.
There was fish in the creek and what we would catch Grandma would always cook.
For some reason the week always went by to quick not enough hours in the day and there was not enough days in the week it all passed by to fast.

The barn I loved so much is no longer there, long gone a tornado destroyed it a few

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Years ago, the old house still stands proud today a quiet reminder of a love that has withstood the test of time. As Grandma and Grandpa have gone to there new home in heaven as they are dearly missed but not forgotten! Each year the family still returns to the farm where we once grew up and played. At the end of the month of May we always find time to recall the good ol’days!

And today some forty years later as we make the trip of less then sixty miles, as the
Car slows down and the gravel under the tires begins to pop as we pull into the drive way the small voices from the back seat ask… Are we there yet?
By the way my brother and I did get to ride that big black horse!

Written by Jim Baggett

Story ID:	1666
Written by:	JIM BAGGETT (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Family Memories
Writers Conference:	$500 2007 Family Memories Writing Project
Location:	Brolesy Mo. USA
Year:	1968