Getting out the window was the easy part. Getting back in was not so easy. So usually, we would sneak back in the sliding door on the backside of the house. No-one the wiser. Especially not mama.

There was no screen on the window. Just a wood frame with glass panes that remained forever unlocked. The tall grass that grew close to the house tickled my feet, most of the time getting me wet. Sometimes there would be a beautiful spider web spun just for us to marvel at in the bright morning sunshine.

My brother and I loved all creatures and animals we came across on our secret adventures. We never stomped them or disturbed them in any way. We just marveled at them with our young eyes.

Both of us had huge hearts that sometimes felt so heavy. Heaviness that came from bearing the load of caring and loving even the most unlovable. Like spiders.

My brother would make sure I always made it safely out of the window, being careful not to scratch my back. He would then stretch his long fair skinned legs over the window-sill and plop down beside me. He always had our shoes in his hand, ready to slip them on both of us. I never understood why he didn’t put them on before our escape. But I would never question my big brother. He was my favorite freckle faced hero.

The field between our house and Maw Maw’s house seemed overwhelming to me. It loomed in front of us from our backyard and seemed to challenge us. We always took the challenge.

Once a neighbor’s dog ran out from their house as if to chase us. Little did we know that he was really ALL bark. But one thing was for sure…we didn’t stick around to find out.

My hero usually left me behind until he finally remembered me. Then, he would run back, frantically grabbing my hand, nearly tearing my arm from my body.

By the time we reached Maw Maw’s back porch, we were sweaty, with our legs covered in grass and beggar lice. We immediately kicked off our shoes that the morning dew had soaked through.

We never knocked. We simply burst through the door, unannounced and uninvited. Yet, we were greeted with hugs and kisses from a heavy set woman with dark hair glittered with some silvery gray. Her blue eyes crinkled downward at the edges, past her black rimmed cat eye glasses and you only had to look into them to feel welcomed.

The delicious smell of breakfast filled the air. Maw Maw’s first words to us were, “come here babies” then inevitably “are you hungry?” Which of course we did and we were!!

We filled our stomachs and our hearts in those early morning hours. She always made us feel so very special and that cooking breakfast for us was her most favorite thing in the world to do.

And we innocently believed that it truly was.

My redheaded brother and I grew up. Other siblings came along. Families moved away. Other families moved in. The field became smaller but the distance to our Maw Maw grew larger.

However, the one thing that never went away was the wonderful feeling of being loved unconditionally and without reserve. Maw Maw made all of us know we were indeed special and that a BLT or fried egg sandwich could possibly solve any problem or cure any ailment we could ever face and any field between us.