Mother was born on this day in 1927. For years, I would get the days mixed up, thinking it was May 25 or May 27. Finally one year, Mother said “5-26-27” and I never forgot it again.
Mama and Papa had been married a year, working a small farm in Throckmorton County. Three years later, they would welcome another baby girl and the beginning of the Great Depression, trying to survive a cotton farm. It was a desolate place, with scrub brush and rocks, and a few oak trees along the creek which never had much water in it. Life was hard, and Mama aged before her time, even though her face was protected by a slat bonnet when she worked alongside Papa. After Mother was old enough, she inherited the slat bonnet and the long sleeved chambray shirts and there were mechanical tractors for when she plowed.
A son would be born in 1939. Mother would leave for Hardin-Simmons University a few years later. She helped pay for her school by working at a downtown theatre in Abilene–the Queen, where she worked the popcorn counter.
I think a lot about perspective these days. Seasons. Circles and cycles. Phases and stages. One side of the giant pine ravaged by lightning. The other side supporting Virginia Creeper. We wait for our time, engage it, and when we are fortunate, there will be those to whom we will matter when our time is done.
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Suzassippi's Lottabusha County Chronicles 
Yes, we want to have meant something to someone when it is our time. Seems your mother meant something to you. A lovely tribute to her!
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Thank you CC. She did, and some days it is still hard to believe she is not still a phone call away. I still think “I need to tell Mother…” so I usually just tell her anyway. 🙂
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Our parents never leave us. In the best cases, they hold a treasured place in our hearts. Sounds like your mother led an interesting life. A woman attending a university in the early forties…. Enjoy your time today.
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Thank you, Betty. I am amazed my grandfather was able to send her to school at all.
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This is quite philosophical and beautifully written.
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Thank you, Anne. I was fortunate and I know that.
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This is such a beautiful post.
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Thank you, Katie. I thought I might write a poem, but it turned into prose. 🙂
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Funny how that happens sometimes. But it was perfect.
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Or rather, is perfect.
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I really enjoy your stories about your family, they are sweet, heartwarming, and show that one thing builds on another in the circle of life. We think of life in terms of today, maybe tomorrow. But in reading life stories of people we see the whole picture. The pine tree has lessons to share, too. Lovely post.
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Thank you, Beth. I learned so much from my parents and about my parents. I really appreciate this comment. I do believe I see more in lessons from the ecosystem than I ever dreamt were there. 🙂
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As soon as I learned to read I discovered that biographies are my favorite reading genre. I never grow tired reading about people’s lives and their experiences. Lessons to be learned and appreciated.
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I agree Beth. I read many biographies in my early reading years, and while it is possible it may have been limited by the options of the small rural libraries in which I lived, it certainly cemented a belief that it is valuable and pleasurable to learn about the lives lived by others.
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I have also found it interesting to read different biographies of the same person to get a real feel for their lives – different perspectives. Interestingly, as large as the SA Public Library system is they often don’t have the books I’m looking for – both paper and electronic versions.
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