Summer by Esther

[note: this story was written by my sister Esther]
　
It was summer and school was out and my sister Marion Elizabeth and her daughter Kim came to visit. They made the trip from Mexico City to spend a bit of time with us.

I had four children, three girls and a boy. My closest neighbor had three girls and with Kim we had a yard full of active kids. Which was good as we lived at the end of the lane. It was out side the city limits. We had old oak trees in the front and back yard where it was so nice to just sit and watch the sun rise and sun sets.

Marion Elizabeth , and Mary the next door neighbor and I would sit outside to have our morning coffee, and watch the children play. They would have different games and often they would treat us to a play one of them wrote or to a musical program.

When Marion Elizabeth unpacked her oil paints and set up her canvas the children became her models. I had always admired her ability to take a blank canvas and create a lovely scene. It was a gift. She did paint with a passion. I watched as she worked the canvas and as the scene progressed. I could see how she was able to use the small or thin or larger brushes to add the details she wanted; to show the shadows and to capture the colors she needed by the way she would dab a color and blend it, with several other colors, was interesting. Even the children enjoyed watching her and would pose as she wanted. They never lost interest. As the days went by it became a habit to see how much she had done and wait for her to ask them to come and sit for her.

Marion Elizabeth would keep a conversation going while she worked and also take time out to watch what the children were doing. My favorite was when they would all start to sing the new songs from the radio. Another thing my sister love to do is direct the choir. And the children just loved her. She always liked to teach and she did it well.

One thing the children liked often was the picnic we had. The weather was nice and too pleasant to stay in side with so many running in and out. We put out a large jug of ice water and Kool-Aid, with spigots which made it easy for them to get their own drinks.

One day we loaded up the children and went fishing. No one had any luck, though Marion did fish all day. She is a dedicated fisher woman. A true fisherman will enjoy fishing even though they don’t have a bite or even a nibble. That’s our Marion. About time for Vernon to come to the lake after work and he threw in his line and before he could reel it back in he had one hooked. He turned around to Marion and said “that’s how you have to do it”. That one fish was enough to make a meal for all of us.

Another day we went Dewberry picking at the bluffs above the river. Every time I have went there, I always came home with enough to make a Dew Berry dumpling and serve it with ice cream. Dewberries are like Black Berries only smaller and they have a more tart taste. They are the best ones to make a cobbler or with dumplings.

It was so nice to have my sister visit. And Marion taught the children to play Spite and Malice. A game two or more players could play. The more the better, the less cards the players would have and the game could last for hours.

I don’t know if Marion ever finish the painting of the children playing in the back yard under the old oak tree with a tire swing hanging on one of the heavy limbs. It looked good to me. But the artist is the one who has to work till it is done to her satisfaction. And Marion Elizabeth please know I did enjoy watching you paint and even more so enjoyed your visit.