My son looked at me and said, “Mommy, when you were a little girl and I was a man, we danced in the garden behind the white tree.” My blood ran cold. The only person I ever danced with there was my grandfather. He had a beautiful backyard with a giant white oak, where he’d turn on his old radio, take my hand, and spin me barefoot in the grass. I was six or seven. It was our quiet ritual, something magical I never told anyone.
My grandfather passed away before my son was born. I had never shared those memories—not with family, not with friends. So I knelt and asked softly, “What else do you remember?” My son smiled. “You wore a yellow dress. I spun you around and you laughed. You said, ‘Don’t let me go.’”
My knees weakened. I remembered that exact day—the yellow sundress, the moment I stumbled, and my grandfather catching me as I begged him not to let go. He had whispered back, “I never will.”
Tears filled my eyes as my son reached up and gently touched my cheek, as if he understood. Maybe it was imagination. Or maybe love moves in ways we can’t explain, crossing time and finding new paths back to us.
I held him close and whispered, “Thank you for remembering.” That night, as I tucked him into bed, I felt a deep peace. Some bonds don’t end. They simply begin again.