Dinner's ready

Our little neighborhood has a fire lane. Which looks to me like a big'ol yard with a patch of asphalt in it, large enough for a fire truck to park there. There's a sign at the end of this patch of asphalt that reads, NO PARKING - FIRE LANE. So, it wasn't being used and when we first moved into this neighborhood our son, Garrison, was 11 years old and we thought that was the perfect place to put a basketball hoop. I had to attend a home owners association meeting regarding the hoop, as there were some neighbors at the time that were complaining about noise pollution as a result of the hoop. As it turns out the hoop was allowed to stay and our son was able to have many hours of entertainment and exercise. We had family time under that hoop. It was fun.

Garrison will be turning 24 this year and has moved away. The basketball hoop remains. People still use the hoop and I aways feel a smile stretch across my face when I hear the sound of a basketball bouncing around over there. I can hear the ball hit the backboard and kids laughing and playing. The sound of the ball bouncing on the ground reminds me of when Garrison would be out there shooting hoops and I'd step out the front door and holler, "Gaaarrisonnnnn, dinner".

Sometimes when someone is out there playing, I just stand outside my front door and pretend my son is two doors down shootin' hoops. Even though he is half way across the country, my heart feels like he's getting ready to run up to the house for dinner.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="272"] This was taken in July 2012. We had just picked Garrison up at the air port. I am always so happy to see him.[/caption]