My Daffodils!

Where flowers bloom so does hope.- Lady Bird Johnson

The daffodils are blooming and I love this time of year. This time of year always makes me think of so many wonderful things. With the first bloom of them I always think of Grandma Black and how even though she lived very simply she touched many lives through her words of wisdom. Sheron and I often remember to each other some off her greatest words. She used to give us warnings about how things could bring about other things. One I will always remember is. "All right NOW! Leaving a rocking chair rocking is a sign your are gonna get a whooping!" I got a few whoopings for that. Because if you jump out and leave it rocking it might; and in my case did; break something at Grandma Morris’s house! At Grandma Blacks little house in the woods she had daffodils planted down each side of the little path to the door. She didn’t have a sidewalk or anything elegant like that. Not even a few stepping stones, But still she planted flowers along her path. She had other flowers as well but I always remember her best from the daffodils. I carried her daffodils that me and Anthony picked from the grave yard near our house once when she was in the hospital. She smiled at us and said." They always bloom so much prettier in the grave yard!" She died shortly after that while they were still blooming. I walked through those woods near where her house was a few weeks ago. I snuck in there by way of the old railroad bed. Just to see if the flowers were still there. They were and are in full bloom! They also remind me of Nelma. My Mother-in-law. Mom to my first Husband Gaylon. We loved each other, Nelma and I. It had nothing to do with him. We loved each other aside from him. We would embroidery together during the long days we spent together with nothing else to do. She would tell me tales of the old ones long gone from her family. Tales about her Papa were very important to her. Everyone used to say Cooper looked like Papa. She would have loved him and Emily. I like to think that she held them in Heaven before they were sent to me. She loved Anthony to death. But she Loved to tie him up too. She found it funny to see him try and get out of it. I think that was the only time she made me really mad. But we got over that moment too. I would go for walks and bring back some daffodils when they were in bloom. She would smell them over and over and then put the whole bunch in a jar and carry it straight to her room. I would say "Hey Share Those Please!" and she would just say "Hmmmmp" If I wanted some for the table I’d have to go and pick more. They also remind me of Mr. Lennie Still. He didn’t have a single blade of grass in his yard. He’d get out there every morning and sweep the yard clean chopping up anything green with the hoe. He didn’t have other flowers in his yard either. But he did have a few scattered clumps of daffodils. He said they let him know that spring was coming. He told me that they remind us of a promise from God that there is a season for everything under the sun. He said that they represented renewal to him. He said we should all have a few planted to remind us. He said "Man needs to be renewed every so often. It keeps a man Humble!" Mr. Lennie was a good man. A Humble man. They remind me of a time that me and Trudy and Anthony were going old house plundering. We wanted to check out an old log cabin someone had told Trudy about way down in the woods. Cooper was reaching for a bloom and was suddenly sliding away. Anthony jumped and grabbed him and was yelling for me to come help him hold on. They both almost fell into a well. If Anthony hadn’t been watching Cooper would have surely fell in. There was no marking of any kind there to warn people of the well. Just Daffodils planted all around it. I can still hear Cooper yelling "Help me bubba!" just as Anthony’s almost a man’s hand closed over Coopers tiny little one. And me grabbing Anthony by the foot as he started to slip as well. But we all Hung on. I think I hugged them fifty times each when we were all safe on solid ground again. Me and Trudy both crying with relief. We all made it out of those woods. We even got a bucket that was hanging way down deep in that well. Anthony was determined to pull up whatever was tied to the rotting old rope. I kept the bucket to remind me of how close we came that day to loosing something precious. I think that was our last house plundering trip. I think that scare ended the house plundering for me and Trudy! It’s funny how something as simple as a blooming yellow flower can bring so many wonderful memories to your mind. How just the smell can invoke such loving thoughts of family and friends already gone. How seeing the blooms all over this yard can remind us of so many things. I didn’t plant them here. They just were. If I had to guess I’d say Miss Ruthie planted them or maybe someone even before she lived here. I give thanks to who ever planted them here. Thanks for the blooms and thanks for the memories.
Patsy