Now neither Marie or Spud would consider themselves ‘gardeners’, I’m sure.  Marie just loves flowers, like her Mama does; and she loves to plant things.  So every time I go to their house, I get to see all these beautiful flowers. And Spud likes to put his own touch on things- he loves to build stuff, including an awesome treehouse that any kid would love. In fact, I would imagine lots of adults would enjoy this treehouse (including me)!

I love to go visit Marie and Spud- they always make visitors feel welcome. Of course, I don’t ever feel like a visitor, I feel like family.

And that’s one reason I like this rose so much- it reminds me of Marie herself.  She’s a beautiful person, especially on the inside, where most folks can’t see.  She’s a sweet loving person who would do anything for you.  She will pray for you and with you when you need it (and even when you don’t think you need it); she’s one of the kindest people I know; she’s compassionate;  and she’s got the most loving heart of anyone I’ve ever seen. I’m so proud to call her my friend.

In south central Alabama, where I live, it’s very unusual to have snow, much less enough to shut down schools, businesses and roads in the area. But that’s exactly what happened on Friday. We got about 4 inches of snow altogether, and it was beautiful!

Three of our granddaughters and their dad made a snowman in the front yard, threw snowballs and tasted snow. I hope they made lots of good memories because they may not ever get another chance to see this much snow. I only remember two other times like this: the last time was in 1993,  and snow piled up in drifts everywhere; some ditches had snow for a week afterwards.

The only other time I remember was in the mid-70s.  Snow was 7 or 8 inches deep on top of cars and everything was covered. My dad’s parents, who always seemed very strait-laced to my brothers and I, actually got out and built a snowman with us – they had never seen snow.

It was fun to act like a kid again- I’m glad I live in a place where commonplace miracles like snow can make such a huge difference in my day.

my mom and me

Someone twittered a request for memories of our moms; here are some of mine.
* When my youngest brother was about five, he did something to get in trouble, and Mama was going to spank him. He decided he could outrun her, so he started down the hall and into his room, which had slick wooden floors. He hit the floor and slid under his bed to get away – when he turned around, Mama was right there behind him. His eyes were big as saucers!
*The first time I was pregnant (1978), my mom found out before me- I had to go out of town for the day, so I took my little specimen cup to the doctor’s office. I asked my mom to call for me to find out the results. Since she had to leave before I got home, and she wanted me to be the first to know, she cut a picture of a baby out of a magazine and put it in an envelope and left it for me.
*The day she held her first grandchild for the first time- my daughter Mary Beth – May 21, 1979. In September 2007, she held her first great-grandchild – Mary Beth’s son Reid. My baby’s baby…
*When I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, my husband and I didn’t want to know whether she was a girl or boy but Mama did, so when we had the ultrasound done, the tech printed a picture and wrote “it’s a girl!”, sealed it in an envelope and we gave it to her. During all those months, she never let it slip to us what we were having. I know it had to be hard for her, but she did it!
I have a great Mom- she’s made a lot of sacrifices for me and my brothers, and I think she and Daddy did a great job raising us – they taught us how to be honorable people. If we’ve failed in doing that it’s through no fault of theirs.

Do you remember the Cosby show episode where Rudy asked Cliff what a bunch of letters spelled? he told her ‘zrbrt’ and then proceeded to give her a razzberry on her cheek. Ever since, I’ve given my grandkids and other beloved children ‘zrbrts’ on their cheek or neck; they’ve learned that if they hold their chin up, it gives me more room under there, and then watch out! the noise is great, and the look on their face is even better. Thank you, Bill Cosby, for helping me make good memories with these wonderful kids.

Why is it that we feel so much younger than we thought our parents were at the same age?

Of all the things I regret, one of the things I wish I could change would be to go back in time, and find out more about my grandparents’ lives. I remember vividly so many things about my mother’s mother, like watching her stand by the sink washing dishes, singing ‘hey, good lookin’ by Hank Williams. Or that she always loved to drink Dr. Pepper – I wish I could find a bottle that looks like the ones from my childhood.