radishes, pumpkins, green beans and dad

this farmer's daughter is getting the springtime itch.
been thinking of doing some plantin' even.
i looked at the veggie seeds.
ahh yes.... radishes, peas.... oh garden green beans!
sigh,
my mouth watering already.

then i saw the flower seeds.
sweet william, i've not had that in years.
sweet peas, bachelor buttons, and Texas bluebonnets?
yes, yes, YES! 
i want them all.
who needs veggies?
bring on the flowers.   

2 days later while dining with dad and bird
we discuss gardens, chatting about mom's,
asking if dad's mom had gardens and where.
i told them of my mouth-watering time in
the store, 
but that i bought flower seeds instead.
 
however, the reminder of the freshness and 
taste of those veggies becomes intense.
a garden....
a veggie garden....
oh...to have one again.

and wouldn't you know it
the next words out of my mouth
" we should plant a garden!"
"YES" says bird!
"dad, can we put in a garden ?"
"i don't care" replied our retired farmer.  
and we could hardly wait to finish lunch,
clear the table and go find a spot.
dad headed down the hall for a nap 
and we scampered out the back door on the hunt.
we decided where the old cherry trees were
would be a good spot. 
after all cherry trees grew here,
then tomatoes did,  
plus water is close by,
sun is plenty and 
we're only yards from the pool! 

we study the lay of the land,
how the sun pattern is happening,
then drag a garden hose to form 
the boundary.
pleased with progress and ourselves
we go on the hunt for the rakes and hoes.
sure enough, there are several well-used
ones. defined to mean-
older than me and some with cast iron handles!
woohoo! we can pump iron too.

after dads nap we drag him outside
to show him our spot.
we also wander around the farm a bit
while he tells us where his mom's gardens 
used to be and how big they were.

we end up on the front porch
listening to the meadowlarks,
and petting a gray cat we promptly named
friendly...for obvious reasons.
fyi, we thought all the farm cats
were wild so the 3 of us were quite
happy to make him purr with
the ear-and-chin-scratching we did
for him. 

we also talked gardens.
told dad what kind of veggies we 
might plant.
"dad is there anything you would like"
he's quiet.
"would you like radishes?"
"well i would eat some, but don't plant
them just for me".
okay.
"we're thinking some green beans,
bird wants pumpkins and zucchini. 
anything else pops?"

and then with a sly little grin,
and twinkle in those blue blue eyes,
he said 
"flowers".    
    
  
    
 
      


               
       

the pink Easter dress

my childhood Easters always, always,
meant a new dress.
it might have been home-sewn by momma,
or sometimes i got a store-bought dress.
but always a new dress.
and new sunday shoes.
once in a while a hat and gloves, too.

in spring of 1969 my paternal grandma was 
in the hospital very very sick.
this was when children under 12 years
weren't allowed in to see patients.  
since i had the gift of living next 
door to her on the farm,
i really missed her 
and desperately wanted to see her.
my folks even checked to see if an 
exception could be made.
but we were told no.

mom suggested i write grandma a letter.
i didn't know what to say.
mom suggested i tell her about my new easter dress.
it was a store bought one that year.
so i did describing the dropped waist,
the row of pintucks down the front
embellished with small pink embroidered flowers. 
then i even drew a picture of it. 

i can remember standing outside on the 
back side of the county hospital
desperately trying to see my tiny
little grandma through the screens
on her hospital window.
i could only see a blur, but 
was assured by one and all
grandma could see me.
they told me she got my letter
and liked the dress. 
it sounded real nice.   

grandma never got to see the dress.
i did wear it for Easter
but i also wore it for her funeral.
momma agreed with me it
was just fine to wear a pretty pink
dress and that grandma would have 
liked the fact i was wearing my best
for her.   

fast forward 42 years.
my sweet momma is lying in a bed,
waiting for Jesus to take her home.
the tumors in her brain have compromised
her memory a bit, but some things she could
still pull out from long ago.
we'd been chatting about a myriad of things.
and then she said, "i remember a dress you had.
you wrote a letter to tell grandma b about it."
i smiled big replying
"you're right i did."
we talked about what the dress looked like.
momma's memory was fuzzy, 
but once i described it, she said she 
knew which one it was.  
we agreed it was one of our favorites. 

 interestingly enough i mentioned 
"i recently found that letter in your desk
mom. i was surprised."
she just lay there, her eyes far away and smiled.
she had kept it all those years. 

happy Easter to my much loved momma
and my darling grandma valentine.
two precious women who gave me love. 
i miss them more than words can say.