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Mabel & the Wooden Spoon

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Blue Ridge, Virginia
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Mabel & the Wooden Spoon

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Home.

January 2, 2017 Lindsey Leahy

I am running, running like the wind, across the acres of prickly grass-covered, rock-studded, Virginia red clay. My feet bare, I am racing time-lapse clouds, chasing their shadows. The mountains bear witness to my flight, their deep folds and gentle edges capture and absorb my delight as they have my sorrow and worry and joy before. 

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There—only a few more paces—I dash past the rose-covered trellis and stop. “Girl, where are your shoes?” he asks. All legs, towering over me, he is a Wrangler-clad, white-haired flamingo. I draw a line up and up with my nose. His eyes glimmer, sky-blue against blue sky. The clouds roll on, I watch them tumble over the white house, the sun sprinting after them. Grandpa has disappeared; he is a retreating silhouette. I follow; he reappears in the shade of the azalea-hedged porch. 

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The door swings open. I see the glasses first. Already sweating, they’re filled with ice and pink lemonade. Grandma appears. Taking into account the height of her carefully arranged hair, she stands something like five feet tall. All grace and beauty, a fierce if quiet little lady who I adore because she cuts the crust off my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and teaches me to count, paint, and cross stitch.        

Grandma and I sit on the porch swing. I watch her out of the side of my eye, trying to mimic her posture, the way she holds her glass. Grandpa, sprawled out in the glider, lets out a huff and sips his lemonade. We don't talk about much—we sit and rock and watch the birds. 

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They're gone now. The memories of a childhood spent with them in the shadow of the Blue Ridge mountains are vivid enough that I sometimes forget they aren't still puttering around the house, fussing at each other with the irrepressible annoyance and irrefutable love of an unconquered 60+ years of marriage thick in their voices and movements.

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Last Wednesday, their home—my home—became home to someone else. Before we said goodbye, though, my family spent one last evening together in the place where I learned to walk and run and fall and get back up.

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I asked my friend, the incredibly talented John Robinson, to take some photos of us all together. I can never thank him enough for these beautiful images. They'll always be among my most treasured possessions. 

If you're in the Charlottesville area and are looking for a gifted, funny, kind photographer, Robinson Imagery it is. 

All credit for all photos goes to John Robinson of Robinson Imagery.

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Home sweet, sweet home. “A teacher comes, they say, when you are ready. And if you ignore its presence, it will speak to you more loudly. But you have to be quiet to hear.” (Robin Wall Kimmerer) I come into the peace of the wild things...I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. (Wendell Berry) Wishing you a holiday as calm and peaceful and loving as this little moment. Until the new year✌🏼 This is fake news. We’re in the throes of three. Christmastime is extra, extra magical when you’re 3 1/2 and the tree farm has sheep to pet and free hot chocolate. Bonus—a cocoon on the tree your family chose. Stella’s daily routine: wake up, eat, nap, sniff around outside, come back in for a nap, find Ruby and doze beside her, sniff around on the deck, eat some bitternuts much to our chagrin, take a nap, PLAY HARD for 5-7 minutes, take a nap, eat dinner, go on a walk up the block and demand to go home, take a nap, snuggle in for reading time with Ru, go to bed. Our little nook of the woods has put on a great show this fall and the old Bitternut Hickory saved the best for the grand finale. #tbt to a couple of weekends ago when we fed llamas and bison and elk from the back of a tractor-drawn cart in Rockbridge County, VA. 📸 and trip thanks to @sbsleahy @jleahy932 tells me that when she got to school, he asked her if she was kinda nervous and she said, “Yeah. A little bit. But I bet [my teacher] will help me feel better.” #rubydayleahy #rubydayleahy starts preschool tomorrow. Sleepy sunrise selfie made extra with a guest appearance by Ru’s new BFF, Knick Knack the T-Rex. Happy birthday, darling. I love you very, very, very, very, very, very, very much. Fresh ✂️. Thanks, Crystal and @cvillehoneycomb. Missing this little woods-walking buddy of mine today. #rubydayleahy
“Every real thing is a joy, if only you have eyes and ears to relish it, a nose and tongue to taste it.”
— Robert Farrar Capon

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“Nature is, above all, profligate…This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”
— Annie Dillard

All words, images, and recipes found on this website have been created by, and are the property of, Lindsey Leahy. Please be kind and credit accordingly. 

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