Happy Birthday
May 13, 1934-February 10, 2004
Today would have been my mom’s 74th birthday. It’s funny how much I still miss her and wish she were here. At the farmhouse she grew up in there were lilac bushes. Every spring she would talk about how the lilacs reminded her of spring. The smell of a lilac always reminds me of her. As her health deteriorated, however, even the smell of a lilac could not alleviate her struggle to breathe or do the simple tasks of life. As much as I miss her, I’m grateful she is not suffering anymore.
From When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d
When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d,
And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,
Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.
O powerful western fallen star!
O shades of night—O moody, tearful night!
O great star disappear’d—O the black murk that hides the star!
O cruel hands that hold me powerless—O helpless soul of me!
O harsh surrounding cloud that will not free my soul.
In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,
Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,
With every leaf a miracle—and from this bush in the dooryard,
With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
A sprig with its flower I break.
~Walt Whitman
Happy birthday, Mom. I love you.
HUGS!!
A very sweet tribute.
I like your blog theme… smiLes
Awe, that was sweet. I know Lily of the Valley remind me of my grandmother. She had tons of it growing in her flowerbeds and when I moved into my first home she transplanted a bunch of it and gave it to me to plant. Whenever I smell lily of the valley I think of her.
Oh, I forgot to mention she passed away in 1992.
I lost my mom on the 14th of February of this year. I am still maintaining a house that remains full of her, filling up a bird feeder that she used to watch through her kitchen window, and mowing around bushes and trees I remember her planting.
This Mother’s Day was tough. Instead of buying my mom a gift, I was browsing headstones.
That was a beautiful blog update. I am glad I came across it. Take care,
Kim