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| The Dynamic Duo. My grandma (left) and her sister, G.G. |
Mother’s
Day. When I think of today, many images race into my brain. Memories of growing
up with my siblings; conversations with my mom; the first time I held Luke, and
then, Liam. Mother’s Day fills me with joy. It also reminds me of the family
members I have lost. I think of them and love seems to fill every part of me.
My grandmothers, my great-aunt, and so many more. But when I hear anyone
mention Mother’s Day each year, one specific conversation always comes to mind.
In the
spring of 2000, Chris and I were extremely blessed to move into my
grandparents’ farmhouse. My dad and my uncle had grown up there. My granddad
had passed away in 1990, and my grandma had elected to move a farm over to stay
with her sister and brother-in-law for company. She had kept her home, went
there most days, but really didn’t stay there at night. She had offered to us
that we could live there, rent free, for a year so that we could save up money
for a home of our own. We quickly agreed.
Moving to
the farm I decided I needed to do what people living on farms do, grow
something. I asked my grandma if she would mind if I had a small garden. She
knew a guy, she said, and he’d till up a small spot for me.
I still
remember pulling in the drive to meet her, looking at the garage-size garden
that she had created, and feeling more than a bit of trepidation of how I was
going to possibly manage such a big space.
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| My garden |
As she
walked me around the garden, pointing out where the most sun would hit, she
looked up at me, over the rim of her large red glasses, and said, “And you may
not plant before Mother’s Day. People will always get in a hurry, rush to
plant. There will always be a frost. Do not plant before Mother’s Day.” And
that was that. Her proclamation, and I would follow it forever more.
Each year I
watch in April as the flowers come out at our grocery store, window boxes
filling up, gardens beginning, but I cannot do anything. For it isn’t Mother’s
Day yet. And while I lost my grandma some time ago, I would feel her standing
over me shaking her head in dismay if I dared to put anything in the ground
before today. I miss her so, but feel love around me every time I think of her.
Happy Mother’s Day to you all. Planting season may begin.
