Sunday, May 13, 2012
Happy Mother's Day
It is my first Mother's Day since my mom passed away and today, my mind goes to roses. Mom didn't care for fancy, cultivated roses. Rather, she loved the old-fashioned shrub roses that she and Dad had transplanted from his mother's yard into ours some 60 years ago. Each summer, Mom snipped roses from the shrub, watching out for the tiny thorns as she did so, and placed them in delicate vases and pitchers throughout our home. The light pink roses had a wonderfully spicy scent. Mom also gathered petals from the roses and made her own potpourri. I have a lovely color photo taken in the 1950s of my Dad with his arm around his mom, my grandma Josie, standing in front of the transplanted rose bush. It was blooming and thriving against the verdant backdrop of the Baraboo Hills. According to a magazine article I read recently, the International Herb Association has named the rose its 2012 herb of the year, recognizing it for its medicinal, culinary and decorative properties. On this Mother's Day, I celebrate the rose and, in particular, the rose bush of Grandma Josie's that brought my beautiful, wonderful mom such joy.
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What a wonderful memory! I can just see your Mom gathering the blossoms and petals by the handful. People we love never leave us; their presence is found in the things they loved while we shared time together. When I am in an old house somewhere, hear a creak that reminds me of a screen door swinging back on it's hinges, catch a whiff of buttermilk, or walk through a field of fireflies on a warm night; I am back on my grandparent's farm in Kentucky.
ReplyDeleteThey never leave us.