“Show Me Your Chickens”

I checked my phone again. Still nothing from my 13-year-old granddaughter, Noelle.

Why won’t she return my text messages? I wondered.

Noelle—I called her Noe—was my youngest grandchild. From the moment I laid eyes on her as a newborn and she gazed back at me, Noe captured my heart.

For years, Noe and her family lived close by, and she and I spent a lot of time together. It made my day to see Noe’s face light up whenever I arrived. She parted her long blonde hair straight