~~ROSES IN HEAVEN~~

When I first saw the background
on this page, I instantly thought of
of my Mother.

My Mother was a survivor.
She survived two major events
in the history of our country, the Great
Depression and World War II, and some very hard
times in between, during, and after the war.

She survived a total of seven births,
the first three of which were at home with
mid-wives. Unfortunately, the first baby, a son,
died at the age of 6 months and she re-lived that
experience with each new baby.

She survived 2 teenagers in her thirties, 1 in her
forties, and 3 during of her fifties, and the loss of her husband, my step-father, when she was 61. She survived raising and providing for her family
with few luxuries.

On week ends, we often had the best fried chicken, mashed
potatoes, and gravy in the county, topped off with a three-layer
cake, frosted with 7-minute icing, sprinkled generously with
grated coconut she prepared from a whole coconut! And she did
all this starting with a live chicken, home-grown potatoes,
and no box mixes for the cake and frosting!

Many week ends were spent gathered around the piano with family
and friends. She could read music and play "by ear". If you could
hum a tune, she could play it! She could also tell you the key
you were playing or humming it in.

During her final illness, it became necessary to place
her in a nursing home. My last visit with her she asked me
if I knew the song, "THE ROSE", and she talked about "how
beautiful it is 'here', beautiful, beautiful roses; roses
everywhere!"
The moment I knew my Mother was gone, I became flooded
with questions I wanted to ask her, the kind of questions
only she could answer. What a hollow feeling that was!


I hope there really are
"ROSES IN HEAVEN".

Betty's Bloomers
2000-2010
03-15-01