As she sat in her rocking chair, she enjoyed how it squeaked. It reminded her of long ago, being pulled in the red wagon through the trail in the cornstalks, laughing along the way. Looking up at the mood swings of the sky also made her smile. Each day was different. Thus was the weather in Michigan.

After so many years of living and working on the farm, her face was wrinkled from the sun. There was a day that this troubled her. However, now she just accepted it, like how a flower blooms whether it’s rain or shine. Her face could bloom despite its age, and this gave her an odd sense of satisfaction.

Sitting each day in the rocking chair gave her plenty of time to reflect on her life and the state of the world. Much to the chagrin of her family, she chose not to learn how to use a computer or cell phone. The television provided ample information each morning when she sat in her living room, sipping her coffee, black with 2 sugars.

She tried, she really did, to be thankful. Her kids were grown, and there were grand kids and great grans, so many that she could hardly keep it all straight. Some of them called her during the week, and she often learned more about them than she may have wanted.

She had experienced a good life. Jumping through puddles as a child, helping on the farm with the cows, laughing every day as nature and its creatures entertained her. She had learned to read later in life, and today she fervently looked forward to the local newspaper which came in her mailbox each day.

As she sat reflecting in her rocking chair, she prayed for the best way to tell her family. Having been healthy her entire life, she was facing an uphill battle with pancreatic cancer. As typical of this, it was not discovered early on, therefore not giving her much time left. Her skin and eyes were turning jaundice, she had some pain in her middle and really didn’t want to focus on all the rest. She didn’t have much time left, so she had chosen to spend her last days sitting comfortably in her rocking chair listening to the tree frogs and the birds chirp.

She had decided to call a family meeting. Her dear husband has passed two years ago from a heart attack, and she was bound and determined to not bring more grief upon her family. She knew that her children would not accept well her decision to live out her last days on the farm in her rocking chair, but she would stand her ground.

The last time she felt so determined was long ago when she stood up for women’s rights, organizing a committee to better incorporate the women into leadership with her local church. She had been hailed a warrior, and she now smiled just thinking about it.

I’ll just be firm and explain everything the best I can, she decided. She planned for next weekend to tell the family of her diagnosis. Of course everyone could sense there was something wrong, but she refused to answer their questions until the meeting.

The morning of the meeting she put on her favorite dress with the blue flowers and sat down in her rocking chair to wait. She prayed that all would go well. As she prayed her mind started to wander, giving her visions of the long life she had lived. She knew right then that she was being called home.

She took her last breath with a smile on her face, and her rocking chair held her until her family arrived.

As far as she could remember, Curious George was her favorite character. It was not uncommon to see her perched high above the house in a tree with the latest Curious George story. She even had a monkey puppet that she named George (of course).

Sitting high in the oak tree, she often wished to be a monkey, regardless of how many times mother raised her voice shouting, “Stop that monkey business!” Up in the great oak she had many conversations with Curious George as she looked over the neighborhood. Somehow up there with her book, she felt safe.

Eventually she grew out of her Curious George books and turned to reading biographies and the World Book Encyclopedia. Her family had a subscription to the World Book, and each month she waited by the mail box for it to be delivered.

As she read numerous biographies, she entered a sacred world so different than her own. Her favorite one was Abraham Lincoln. She was amazed at what he stood for, and how he didn’t back down, even when threatened. As she read she imagined a world where people got along despite their differences. Grandpa and Grandma didn’t have much good to say about Blacks, Hispanics, and other “foreigners”. Yet she longed to fill her mind with ideas on how to all get along without prejudice. She hoped that as she felt free up in her oak tree, others could also experience this.

Then, when she read her World Book Encyclopedia, she was privy to a whole other world. Her favorites were the topics about animals. As with Curious George, she filled her young mind with dreams and ambitions. Perhaps, someday she would be a doctor or travel the world as a missionary. She waited in eager bliss each time a new letter for the World Book arrived, imagining what new ideas she would uncover.

To this very day, although much older, she still loves to read. In fact, her favorite place to visit is not mountains or waterfalls, but the library. Reading has helped her escape many trials in her life. It brings comfort and peace in a busy and stressful world. Today, if you asked her how to overcome obstacles, she would simply say, “Read a book.”

It was after this thought that the little girl made the decision to enter the rainy outdoors to create some fun. She put on her purple rain coat with the hood and stepped outside. Mama yelled from the kitchen, “Don’t jump in the puddles or you’ll ruin your new tennis shoes!”

Listening to Mama sometimes made no sense to her. Outside the daffodils were beginning to come up from the soggy ground, and appeared that they were welcoming the rain. The little girl walked up to the pretty plant and touched the yellow flower with her right hand. It was soft to the touch and reminded her of her cat Ruby.

She stood up, and directly in front of her was an enormous puddle, bigger than she had ever seen. She concluded that there was no other way around it but to jump through it. Like a long jumper at a track meet, she took a deep breath, then jumped as high and as far as she could. Water covered her new red tennis shoes, and her pants were dripping.

The water was so warm it reminded her of her bath that morning. She giggled and squealed with delight, smiling so wide that the dimple on her left cheek soon appeared. She jumped over and over, realizing that she couldn’t remember the last time she had this much fun.

The little girl then stood still, soaking up the warmth and wetness. She knew Mama would probably give her a lickin’ if she discovered her this way, but she didn’t care.

She told herself that some things are worth it, finding that she had as much fun in the rain than when the sun shone, if not more. Jumping the puddle had brought her great joy indeed.

The little girl looked up to the sky, the dark clouds menacing above her, and she was thankful.

It was then that she decided to crawl under a rock. Into the woods she went. She found a rock that was big and heavy. “This rock will keep me grounded,” she said aloud to herself. She needed to make a plan to get under it.

She began to negotiate in her mind. “Shall I move it? Must I dig a hole under it? Will it turn over if I lift it?” She began move forward with her plan of getting under this rock.

She first tried moving it. She discovered that the rock weighed much more than her little frame could lift. She grunted and growled as she attempted this. The rock stayed firm and still. Next, she tried digging a hole. Determined, she smiled at this plan, gently moving the leaves and dirt. Yet she found herself still unable to get under it.

It was then that the sun came out and shone upon the rock. Suddenly, she no longer saw a huge rock surrounded by dark trees. The rock began to glow in the midst of where it had landed years ago.

She looked up to the sky. It was a soft shade of blue. She remembered that blue was her favorite color. She looked around the neighborhood of the rock and saw beautiful wildflowers and a bubbling creek.

She realized that crawling under the rock should no longer be her plan. Instead, she took her small feet with the purple slippers and gently climbed onto the rock.

Standing on the rock surprisingly brought her joy. She began to jump and dance on the rock, smiling for the first time in weeks.

After that day, she visited the rock whenever she found time. For it was on top of the rock that she found peace.