Short Story - Fireflies - Grant Eagar

On Neighbors 

  To order my books:

 Angelica: The Princess and the Pig  

Henry and Sophie: A Steampunk Adventure 

Sheila the Vampire: Dancing with the Enemy
      

The Fireflies                                 

         

We remember when the kids were little and the times we would go on long Sunday walks. The kids would run about chasing fireflies with their cousins and we felt like we were surrounded by angels. We had dreams of their futures, what they would one day become.  We had the conviction that if we raised them the best we were able, everything would turn out alright.

Fast forward twenty years - the children have been bitten and infected by the demons of our day; alcoholism, drug abuse, divorce, mental illness, and autism. We try to suck the venom from their seeping wounds and love them the best we are able. Occasionally we roar and yell at them, but that does not make the sickness and the pain go away. Our dreams for them are replaced by their own dreams. Considering that they must bear the consequences of their choices, they must make those choices. 

We are all broken - when we were young, we were concerned with those who had failed us, but as we grow older, we are now concerned with those whom we have failed. The price we must pay for our own selfishness.

As the years go by, we adjust our attitudes and our expectations. It is easy to love a child who makes all the right choices, but one who tries our soul makes us dig down deep and find the best part of ourselves. We learn much about what real love is all about. We cheer our children on as they struggle through life and their joy is our joy and their pain is our sorrow.

The grandkids come and we hug them, play ball with them, play ring around the roses with them, tell them stories, and hold them.  For a moment we are young again surrounded by our little ones and we experience the joy once again of raising little ones. We also now know some of the pain and sorrow they will face in the years ahead and we are now hopefully better able to help them with their demons when they come. 

Then we smile - things are turning out, but just not how we had planned.