Last night my longing for my grandfather clung to me, sticky like honey, and refusing to budge. I wept and rocked. I savored old memories, closing my eyes to conjure the sounds and smells of Grandpa. It was no use, last night was heavy with his absence and no amount of wishing on my part was going to change that.

Today I am still missing him, but the air has changed. Lush blankets of light are washing over all that I have, chasing away the hazy shadows of what I have lost to another place. Two girls fill the frame, wide open faces, each with a set of dazzling blue eyes, punctuated emphatically with irresistible ringlets, some dark and some golden. They fill me with wonder and hope. They seduce me into living with the unbridled enthusiasm of children and of my grandfather. The original twinkler.