Hoping For Fresh Snowballs For Memorial Day...

 Decades ago my mom planted a snowball bush near my childhood home. She planted it next to a rain gutter outlet where, not only did it get water from the sprinklers, but received a healthy dose of water every time it rained.

When we built a house across the street, we did the same thing, planted a snowball bush where the rain water flowed. It flourished. When we moved a few years ago, we had to put in a yard. One thing we wanted was to do the same thing my mom did, the same thing we did.

So, that's what we ended up doing.

Last year we found a tiny plant and dug a hole at the base of a rain gutter outlet. This spring, we're seeing some tiny snowballs.

Each spring the snowballs at the old house were so beautiful, huge, white, incredible. We always hoped they would last until the end of May so we could cut off some of the snowballs and put them on my parent's gravestone. Almost every year, the didn't make it. If you know anything about the snowball bushes, the snowballs are very fragile. A light breeze could destroy them. We even tried when they bloomed late in the spring to take some to the cemetery. We ended up with a car full of white pedals.

We live at a little higher latitude now. Things progress a little slower up here. I'm hoping that these little snowballs will last until the end of May so we can take them with us. It might happen, it might now. At least we can say we tried.

Here's hoping.

Mom's Flowers...

When my father passed away, my mother had the mammoth responsibility of not only raising three young children by herself, but also taking care of a monster yard. We lived up against the mountain and every weed known to man (it seemed...) ended up at our house.

My mom battled. Boy, did she battle! She valiantly fought the forces of mother nature with as much strength as could be contained in all of her five feet, zero inches. She used, as her weapons, plants that were as tough as she was. She loved iris flowers, mostly because they came back year after year and if you let them, they'll multiply and become even more abundant year after year.

Mom's gone. New neighbors live in the house we called home for almost four decades. And because her iris plants were so hearty, our new neighbors asked if we wanted some of the flowers to transplant to our yard.

Of course.

That was last year. This is the time of year they bloom and they're beautiful.

One of my childhood memories is each spring on Memorial Day my mom went to the yard and cut several iris flowers. We had a rainbow of colors back then. We'd take them with us to my father's grave and leave them there as a reminder of what he meant to all of us. Since my mother knew him the best, it meant the most to her. And, if conditions were right, we'd take along some snowball blooms as well.

I don't know if the flowers will make it this year. We're pretty sure the snowballs will be long gone come Memorial Day. Too bad. I'd love to decorate their graves with flowers from our yard, just as she did all those years. It's a tradition worth keeping.

It's All About Family...

It's All About Family

The family used to get together (or try, at least...) once a month. We'd take turns hopping from house to house and have Sunday dinner. And we did pretty good for the first year after my mom passed away. The goal--to stay in touch--was an admirable one. My mom didn't want us to drift away like a lot of families do when their parents are gone.

After that first year, we kind of stopped the monthly dinners. I don't think it was one family's fault that we stopped meeting. If anything it was life and the fact that each of our families have evolved and gotten busy. In the past five years one family has gone from having two teenagers to having none. Another family has gone from having no teenagers to having two. And the other family had two kids move out and one moved back.

Memorial Day for the Taylors means meeting at the cemetery. We met yearly when it was just my father's memory we honored at the incredibly beautiful cemetery. Now we honor two and are blessed beyond measure to be included in this family and carry the name of Taylor.

 

Hopefully we can carry on the tradition. In the next five years some of my siblings could be grandparents (maybe even me, but that would be pushing things...). I'm sure there will be a lot of changes as the last five years have shown. Memorial Day is to honor those who have passed (generally) and those who have fallen and fought for our right to be together as a family (specifically). In the end, it's all about family.

Snowballs And Cemeteries...

I don't recall exactly when my mom planted a snowball bush in front of our house, but she did and because it was planted directly in front of a downspout, the bush received a lot of water. Over the years the plant has evolved until only the upper branches sprout snowballs. It's kind of a weird-looking bush right now, but I still love it.

Since snowball bushes always seem to bloom around Memorial Day, we would always clip off a few snowballs and take them to the cemetery to place on my father's headstone. It was always nice to take something from our yard as a memoir for a loved one.

Following my mother's example, we planted our own snowball bush and we placed it directly in front of a downspout. This weekend we'll clip snowballs--twice as many--and take them to the cemetery. And, again, I'll feel good taking something from our yard to honor my parents.

Of course, within a few days there will either be a heavy rainstorm, or windstorm (or both...) and all the pretty white petals will go away. But, for at least for one weekend, they will look beautiful.