 April 2002
April is a beautiful month,
however it tends to tug at my heart strings. Its the
month of my dear mother's birth and death. Four years
ago, my mother left this earth and never a day goes by
that I don't think of her and miss her terribly. She and
I were best friends. I don't even know if she knew that
"officially"...it was just something I always
knew in my heart.
Mom was my advisor in life. She and
I were the only "girls" in the family, so we
talked about many girl things. I always knew that if I
had any questions, concerns, problems or joys--that mom
would gladly listen to me.
I loved to listen to her stories of
growing up in Logan, Utah. I was born there, but never
got the chance to live there much. She would tell me of
the house she grew up in (which was below the Logan
Temple and is no longer there) and of her many animals
she raised, her friends and sisters, her parents (my
grandparents) and her life in such a pleasant town
nestled in the Wasatch Mts.
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April
- April, April
- Laugh thy girlish
laughter;
- Then the moment
after,
- Weep thy girlish
tears!
- April, that mine
ears
- Like a lover
greetest,
- If I tell the,
sweetest,
- All my hopes and
fears,
- April, April
- Laugh thy golden
laughter
- But the moment after
- Weep thy golden
tears.
-
- --Sir William Watson
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A Pot of Red Geraniums
One April morning, a very long time
ago, I woke up and grabbed a handful of quarters from the
little clown bank on my dresser. It was mom’s
birthday and I wanted to walk down to the corner market
and find something extra-special for my very best friend.
As I counted my quarters I found that I only had $1.25
and my heart sank. Even back in the 1960's there
isn’t a lot you can buy for that small amount of
money. But never-the-less, I would find something nice to
give to the lady of my heart. Mom, being born on April
15th, said she was always referred to as her papa's
"little tax deduction". I smiled as I thought
of that.
Being the only girls in a family of eight, mom and I had
a special bond. I fell in love with her the moment I laid
eyes on her--back in 1950 when the doctors carried me
into her arms. I wailed and she loved me in spite of it.
As I hurried down the street towards Best’s Grocery,
all the houses in the neighborhood were in the midst of a
rainbow of color, provided by a palette of springtime
flowers. It was as if all the tulips, daffodils, pansies,
sweetpeas, and dogwood blossoms had realized that this
was the birthday of a very special lady and decided to
join in the tribute.
I looked back towards out house and saw my mother
watering the iris on the west side of the yard, wearing
her favorite gardening hat. Our yard was lovely and there
was no doubt that she had inherited her love of flowers
from her mom and grandmother before that. All were master
gardeners. It always made my heart happy to see people
slow down and admire our yard as they drove down our
street.
Mr. Devol, a man who lived in the next block was as
always, out tending to his beautiful flowers. He was a
retired widower that spend most of his time in the yard.
To supplement his modest retirement pension, he built a
large greenhouse in the back of his one- acre lot and
sold bedding and vegetable plants. Mom and I had visited
him on many occasions, when mom went to purchase
"just a few more flowers" for an empty spot in
the yard. I’m sure Mr. Devol saw her not only as a
good customer, but as a treasured friend.
"Ah...good morning Sadie!" said Mr. Devol.
"And where are you off to this fine morning?"
I stopped and explained that it was my mother’s
birthday and I was going to try to turn my allowance into
something magical for her down at the corner market.
"Candy?"" he said. "Sweets for the
sweet?"
"Well I really don’t know, Mr. Devol" I
replied, "My allowance isn’t enough I’m
afraid."
In an instant he looked up at me with a twinkle in his
eye. "Y’know, I might have just the thing for
your mom!" he said with a smile in his voice.
"Follow me, Miss Sadie."
I was intrigued with what he might have in mind so I
followed him as he lead me to the back yard and out to
his greenhouse.
As he opened the door, I could smell the sweetness of
hundreds of blossoming flowers! I always loved walking in
Mr. Devol’s greenhouse with mom. It was amazing to
see so many beautiful flowers growing in one place! It
was a magic carpet of color.
I followed Mr. Devol until he stopped in front of some
beautiful crimson red flowers.
"There you go! These red geraniums would be perfect
for Mrs. Douglass, don’t you think?" he said,
"In fact, I can tell you she was in here admiring
them just last week, before they were in full
bloom."
I nodded in agreement that mother certainly would love
those, but then I remembered how very slim my pocketbook
was. My heart quickly sank a little.
When Mr. Devol saw me nod he quickly reached down under
the bench and brought up a large terra cotta pot and
shoveled some black soil into it. He carefully selected
two of the fullest and prettiest geraniums and gently
placed them into the pot. Then he took a few steps down
to where some white petunias were blooming and he planted
them in with the red geraniums with the same care.
"Your house is the red and white Colonial in the
next block, This pot would look lovely on sitting on your
porch!" and he handed me the pot with a caring smile
on his face.
"Oh Mr. Devol, they are beautiful, but I’m
afraid I don’t have much money!" I said
nervously.
"Well, let’s see how much you’ve got
there, Sadie. Oh..looks like $1.25 which just so happens
to be the exact price of this birthday special flower
pot!" He grinned. "Now you just take those
flowers home to your mom and tell her that I also wish
her a ‘Happy Birthday!’.
I couldn’t thank Mr. Devol enough and he suddenly
had become a hero to me...and a good friend. As I proudly
carried the pot of red geraniums towards our home, I
could see that they would, indeed, look lovely on the
front porch.
My mother was delighted with the geraniums and petunias.
She said I couldn’t have given her anything more
perfect and she meant it. I told her about Mr.
Devol’s kindness. Mom just said, "I have found
that people who love flowers, are all special! After all,
they are partners with God!"
From that birthday on, my mother always got the same
present from me...a pot of crimson red geraniums with
white petunias. And on each birthday she reacted just as
surprised as that first time back in Ohio when I was a
kid. The best part of all is that I knew she loved
them...and me.
I miss you mom. Happy Birthday! And be sure to give Mr.
Devol a special "hello" from me. I have a
feeling Heaven is full of your beautiful flowers.
Love forever,
"Sadie"
P.S. The pot of geraniums are on the
porch!
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