MARGARET AND THE TREE FROG

Yesterday awaking from my Sunday afternoon nap, I had been dreaming. I rarely remember my dreams but I remembered this one. I had been dreaming about Margaret, a little feisty 80 year old firecracker I was N.A. to for six years. She suffered from alzheimers. In the dream Margaret was sitting in my kitchen laughing and visiting with me. I sometimes brought Margaret to my house for lunch just to get her out and about. It seemed to be one of these times. Suddenly her daughter who lived clear across the country as Margaret often commented was there. Margaret threw her arms around her daughter and started laughing in surprise and delight to see her. Her daughter started singing her a song and Margaret joined in. The daughter called the brother and he came and joined the festivities. We had a grand lunch of cheeseburgers, potatoe salad and porkn'beans with twinkies for desert. Margaret always ate her desert first in case she ate too much food and would not have room for it. I sang to Margaret...here she comes, Miss America and she strutted across the floor with one hand on her hip and the other behind her head like a model laughing all the way. She was such a hoot. Then I awoke, I thought you never lose the ones you love. They always show up in a conversation or a memory or a dream. Even being gone so many years the joy of who they were lives on. I remember one hot summer day I went to Margaret's house wearing knee length shorts. Her favorite show was the price is right with Bob Barker. I think she liked the applause and laughter. She was sitting in her recliner and I was sitting in Putts. By the stone fireplace. All of a sudden a tree frog who must have got inside someway and was clinging to the fireplace flew off and splatted on my bare knee clinging to my skin with those balled feet. Simutaniously I screamed, knocked him across the floor with my hand and shot up out of the chair as if I was on fire. Margaret calmly asked me what in the world was the matter with me. As I told her how a tree frog had startled me we began to laugh so hard we almost wet ourselves. Did you kill it Margaret asked. I don't know let's find it. We found the poor little creature huddled in front of the basement door trying to be invisible. His heart was pumping so hard from the trauma we could see it beating. We rescued him and put him out in the grass. Margaret thought the story was so funny she went to the phone to call her son. By the time he answered she had forgotten what she called about. Margaret could only remember for 5 minutes but they were a great 5 minutes full of laughter and joy. Margaret was a hoot. I miss her, but I have the fun time memories. Hope you enjoyed the saga of Margaret and the tree frog. God bless, Linda