My Grandpa

*A 12 year old grandson had to select a family member to write about using a metaphor as part of a family research project.  In his words...

       My grandfather is like the big old red barn.   First he was born and raised on the farm just like the barn. Throughout the years of hard work from sunrise to sunset, he has gotten stronger. With his years of hard work with the sheep trying to keep them safe from the coyotes and wolves, he has become very clever like the barn’s hay loft . He has survived the prairie storms throughout the years just like the barn for almost 100 years. He is also like a weather vane when we are lost in the parking lot or when the girls are lost in the mall parking lot. He knows exactly where we are like the south forty. 

One of my favorite things is all of the great-great memories they both hold. It is like having the best thing ever. I mean both are filled with doors and behind each one you can open there is a hidden treasure—like my mom’s old bike or grandpa sharing the best places for boys to play.

My grandfather isn’t old. Neither is the barn. I just think with all the years of hard work, he worked the color out of his hair, and now it matches the trim on the barn. For the people who do call him old, they don’t know all the different opportunities there are in that great heart of his. His arms will always open as wide as the barn doors, even if it may harm him. His arms will bring anyone in because he has just as much room in his heart, like the big old red barn. 

So to conclude this, my Grandfather’s spirit and soul will always be there even if he or the barn isn’t. He will be in the fields of the farm and in the blowing dust traveling across the prairie. He always has something to do or somewhere to go. He is amazing and no one can top him!!!