Granddaddy's and Paw paw's

We didn't go to the beach or the mountains for summer vacation when I was growing up. Come to think of it, I don't think I spent the night in a hotel before I got married and then it was a one night stay at Joe Wheeler Lodge. My summer get-aways included spending the night with cousins or going to Paw paw Cox's Luxury Summer Resort for a few days.

Maw maw and paw paw lived in a tiny house out in the country where TV reception was minimal and bed time was before the sun set. There was no McDonald's with a play place just around the corner and no video games to keep us indoors for hours at a time. Paw paw didn't take us places or buy us things to keep boredom at bay, what he did give us was his time.

We took turns trying to beat paw paw at checkers and played for hours in the big yard. We fished, hunted rocks, climbed hills that seemed like mountains, picked tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden and spent hours swinging on the front porch swing. Every once in awhile we would venture out in pawpaw's old car to visit family or neighbors. Paw paw would drive with maw maw in the front seat beside him, while my brother and I rode in the backseat happily eating orange slice candy or circus peanuts.

If I had only known back then that my own two children were destined to grow up without a grandfather, I would have written down every single thing about both of my grandfathers to share with them. It is impossible for me to imagine a childhood without Paw paw Cox and Granddaddy Holden, and I hate that my kids will never have memories of going to pawpaw's house or riding on granddaddy's tractor. It's been said  "you don't miss what you never had", but I believe there are a few exclusions to that old saying which includes granddaddy's and pawpaw's.

Summer is coming to an end and I am longing for a trip to the beach but I would gladly trade a hundred beach vacations for one week at Paw paw Cox's Luxury Summer Resort. A place where happiness comes from who you spend your time with and not where you spend your time at.