At Summit Lane: Red Mill Beauty

Beauty at the Red Mill

A few days ago I had the priviledge of spending an entire day with my granddaughter, Morgan Halle O'Brien. She is a beautiful brown-eyed, red-haired 5-year old with great presence. She agreed to go with me on errands to Waupaca with gusto. I had no idea we were embarking on a very memorable day. She climbed into her booster seat in the van and instructed me on the mechanics of the seat belt and we were off.

After a couple of quick stops we ended up at the Goodwill store. She dug right into the wonders of second-hand stuff at a good price and had many suggestions with reasonable plans for their use. Very creative, but some had to be put aside for later! We decided on purchasing pink Crocs, blue canvas purse, and a pink, flowered dress for her and a book for me.

Then we agreed it was time for lunch. She settled on the nearby MacDonald's for a Happy Meal (but she ignored the toy, Joe!) She chose to sit at the highest table with feet dangling from the stool. Then a most heartwarming thing happened. As I was unwrapping food, I glanced up to see this tiny angel blessing herself with the sign of the cross and beginning the meal prayer. My heart skipped a beat as I struggled to get in step with her offering. This little child brought me back to a since-forgotten time in my life when this prayer would never have been overlooked; when had I sped on with trivia past this simple connection with God? A lady at a nearby table smiled gently and nodded in appreciation for the guidance Morgan's mother has given her.

It was time for the dessert treat I had promised her after lunch so it wouldn't melt. Another surprise for grandma-they did not have twist cones, so she opted to leave and hold out for a treat later at her first choice - DQ. Wow! I had to come through with that one! So we scuttled to the other side of town and 'viola' they produced a twist cone. We sat at a counter facing a huge aquarium. She licked the cone while telling me details about the four large 'plycostomus' clean-up fish suspended from the glass and identified the others swimming by.

I asked her if I could choose what to do next. She listened to my plan to visit the Red Mill in Little Hope where there were things to see along the Crystal River. I wanted to share with her a place I had cherished since my childhood. She patiently took a little nap as I blindly took rustic back roads and found my way to this special little place. As I parked, I noticed the remaining chocolate ice cream took up residence on her white blouse. When she woke up and requested help with the sticky ice cream, we decided this was the perfect time to wear the pink

dress we just purchased. I was so pleased to see her bound out of the van and head down the worn concrete stairway toward the flowered paths.

We crossed the covered bridge and she scurried toward the Little Church. It was surrounded by chairs from a recent wedding, but the door was locked. I held her up to look in the windows at the altar, antique organ and 8 tiny pews. I told her I had played the music for a friend's wedding in there many years ago.

She pondered that for a moment and headed down another path toward the water. "Can we wade in the river if there are no turtles?" So she took my hand and we made our way down the bank onto the smooth stones beneath the clear, rushing water. Her laugh was as crystal at the water! After we explored the floors of the Red Mill building searching for the elusive, resident cat, we decided to head for home.