As I walked through my grandparents' house, I noticed a familiar picture on the mantle above the fireplace. I picked it up to get a better look at it. In the photo, there were about 10 raccoons all huddled below the old oak tree that used to be in the center of the backyard.

I remember casually playing tic-tac-toe with my Paw Paw on the patio furniture while the raccoons were having their daily snack given to them by my Fay. My Paw Paw was the frogs, I was the lilies, instead of the standard, boring X's and O’s. The board we played on was a moldy green color with four legs to help it stand on the table. It had curvy edges with frogs and lilies engraved on all sides. We would play every time I went over to their house, usually while Fay was inside cooking dinner. While Fay cooked, she always walked around the kitchen whistling her favorite tunes. She would always say, “Gavin, if you ever catch me whistling, just let me know. 'Cause that means I’m getting old.” I laughed when she first said that; it made me realize how much she did whistle. I didn’t want to tell her that she was old, so I just let her whistle away.

My Paw Paw taught me many different strategies in tic-tac-toe. You can put one of your pieces in the middle and have more control over the game. Or, you could try to sneak around the edges, hoping that your opponent doesn't see what you’re trying to do. As we played, you could hear the wind chimes with their soft, rhythm-less music. Fay had many things hanging on her house in the backyard. She had a big thermometer showing how humid and hot it was. She had hummingbird feeders so you could see the small, bright green birds come eat. During the day was when the hummingbirds and squirrels would come eat. But in the late evening the raccoons would come. They all gathered around the stump of the big oak tree, waiting for Fay to feed them their daily snack. My Fay believes in reincarnation, which might be the reason she is so helpful to the animals in the community. She even has a “Raccoon Crossing” sign hanging on the backyard fence – a bright, yellow sign with a black raccoon on it. But she takes care of bugs too, which is a little more than what normal people do. She doesn’t feed the bugs, but she doesn’t kill them. Whenever we find a bug in the house, we have to pick it up with a napkin or paper and let it go outside.

On the big glass windows separating the living room and the backyard, are stickers of birds. This is because a few years before, a bird once flew into the glass full speed. And it died, on the spot. I remember it because I was there when it happened. I was watching TV and out of nowhere we heard a loud, Tink! And then we all went outside and saw the bird lying there. The next day, possibly that very night, my Fay ordered stickers to put on the glass so that would never happen again. And, it hasn’t.

Recently, my Paw Paw and Fay did some reconstructing to their backyard. They removed the tree that the raccoons used to eat under and they extended the concrete patio. They added a fountain and a nice warm jacuzzi – I couldn’t argue with that one. The funny thing is that the raccoon crossing sign still is hung on that backyard fence, even though they don’t come by anymore. I sometimes go outside and eat dinner on the same patio furniture me and Paw Paw used to play on. And I would listen to the beautiful chirps of the birds at the feeder. There is constant noise in that backyard. You hear the splashing of the water fountain, the jets of the jacuzzi, and my Fay whistling. I made a lot of memories in their new backyard. Like sometimes my “bath” would just be putting myself in the jacuzzi, and Fay didn’t say a word to my mom. Plus, all the countless snacks and drinks a kid could want! But I guess that’s the dream of being a grandma. Always have a stashed pantry for the grandkids to raid.

But I do miss the memories I had in their old backyard. I miss feeding the raccoons every night. That’s not something every kid can say. I just wish there was a way to get all of that back. But all I have left of the memory is a black and white picture of it. Ten raccoons all huddled up and eating underneath that oak tree. But maybe it's a good thing that they don’t come by anymore because I’m pretty sure the old hound, Baxter, would have a field day with those raccoons.