Flowers in February and Mama Hodges

~ rabbitpatchdiary.com

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I will not continue to scold the daffodils, nor the foxglove and lilies.  February is “putting on airs” and acting like April.  It is a well done masquerade and so how can I blame the flowers, not to just go along with it?  Some of the daffodils are blooming already.   Their blossoms will not hide little eggs in shades of pink and blue, this year.

I saw some bluebirds today.  One of them was in a patch of dandelions and what a colorful sight that was.  Bluebirds are charming little birds and are dependably cheerful.   I am glad  to live in a world  with bluebirds.

Camellias are bloming now.  They are like living valentines -especially the true red and pale pink varieties.  They are a handsome lot when planted in small groves, in the corners and edges of lawns.  They are hardy bushes and not threatened by cold weather.  

My great grandmother had a birthday this week .  “Mama Hodges” was old in my earliest memories.  I never saw her wear any color but black.   She only wore dresses and always had an apron-excepting on Sunday.  On Sunday, she wore a black dress with a white lace collar-and a cameo, that had a crack in it, because a mule stepped on it, decades earlier. Her husband died in his forties and Mama Hodges wore black, because of that for forty more years.  She grew daffodils, and as far as I know, hers bloomed in March. Mama Hodges kept her house  clean and tidy-and”hot enough to cure tobacco ”   in,  year round.  When we visited, we had to sit as  still as if you were in Church.  Her kitchen smelled like pound cake at all times.  There was usually one on top of the “kelvinator” in a metal cake plate.  Children were never allowed to ask for food at anybodys’ house, when  I was young.  It was considered ill-mannered, and mama Hodges’ house was no exception.  When Mama Hodges often offered my sister and I some of that cake, we both looked at mama for the “look of approval”.   I can remember Mama Hodges, cutting us a slice, then sending us to the back porch quickly, to eat it.  There would be no crumbs in her kitchen! 

I think of the changes that Mama Hodges -and all in that generation, endured in their lives.  Mama Hodges got around by means of a wagon or carriage til well after her children were born.  Kerosene lamps lit the house.  Clothes were mostly sewn and blankets quilted-and  feeding a family, was a different predicament altogether. I remember her home as a comfortable dwelling with electricity and a telephone.  There was a bathroom with a claw-footed tub.  She had a piano and a clock, shaped like a church, with a bell in its’ steeple, that chimed out the hours.  Mama Hodges lived long enough to see her children drive fancy cars, watch “the stories” on television and to see the birth of her great-great grandchild, my Brant.

I laugh, when I hear “old people” chided because they don’t like change.  They have changed all of their life and it took real substance to endure.  I sympathize because, technology has greatly increased the rate of change in my own, close to six, decades.  I remember getting a microwave and a refrigerator with an ice-maker.  No one had cable or a computer, nor a cell phone a short while ago.  When the cable company recently changed the remote, I almost cried.  I still do not know what was wrong with the old one.

Things change, and like the seasons, they change when they want to.  I try my best to adapt and carefully consider whether or not to discard a habit, just because it is now old-fashioned.  Many modern conveniences , have proven to be wonderful and I am so very grateful for them-sometimes though, I would as soon hang clothes on a line til they smell like sunshine-and hold a book in my hand, while I read it-and I like to gather my own flowers for the table on Sunday. . . but I declare, it just ought to be in March.

32 thoughts on “Flowers in February and Mama Hodges”

  1. Was just commenting on the dandelions this morning and how this weather has everything so confused. The Camellias are absolutely beautiful and coming into their peak blooming season so it is something to truly enjoy.

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  2. Mother Nature is totally confused about this weather – just as we humans are. You write the most wonderful posts, which totally ropes me (the reader in) and causes quieting thoughts to enter my mind. The past was a wonderful time. Some changes I like, others I do not. My Mother dried her clothes on the clothes line until she passed away. I actually prefer the dryer, because clothes feel softer.

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      3. I wrote a book – my granddaughter will post it on Amazon this summer (when she has time). They give you a copyright and you get 70% of what people buy it for to read on their tablets. Submitting it is above my head technology wise, this is why someone smarter will submit for me. Good luck to you – future author.

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      5. I really am not worried about money. This is a book about my brother who past away before Christmas in 2015. He led an interesting life – I miss him very much. I know we all have lost loved ones – memories of them are precious.

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  3. I agree… so many changes from the world we grew up in.. and I suppose each generation realizes that. I remember hanging clothes on the line and smelling the freshness of them … alas the dryer now is faster and easier… but the clothes will never have that same fresh smell… Diane

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    1. I hang clothes on the line when I can-especially sheets when I have overnight guests-they always ask what soap I use! Still, I love a dryer in winter and because of working. A child ask me “what was that thing in the yard?” once haha! thank you for visiting.

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  4. Another post that has made me smile! You are totally right of course – older generations have been changing and adapting all their lives, probably at a faster pace than their ancestors had to cope with. I think they are amazingly adaptable people!

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  7. I completely agree about the “old people!” They are changing all the time, and if every once in a while they complain about the constant, never-ending change they are trying so hard to keep up with, then as far as I’m concerned, they’re entitled. And I’m using the word “they” although, sadly, I’m pretty darned sure I’m one of them!

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  8. Hey there! I think it might come as a surprise to you but I have mentioned you & your awesome Blog for The Liebster Award. I just want you to know that you are one of the Bloggers here that I appreciate and I value what you are writing. Thank you as well for supporting me here.

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  9. I love hearing about your great-grandmother Hodges. I was blessed to know two of my great-grandmothers, southern generations being as compressed as they are, lol. My mama was 17 when my twin sister and I were born, and her mother wasn’t yet 40 and her mother not yet 60, but a widow like your Mama Hodges, for many years. My great-grandmother’s house had a claw-foot tub too and I remember it so well. Thanks for sharing your stories, they bring all my childhood memories flooding back!

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  10. There is such an Essence of Peace with your writing. As for Spring I actually heard Spring bird song this morning which totally uplifted my Spirits. At least one month early I just shake my head in wonder. Now snow is in the forecast. We don’t know from one day to the next what will be, now do we? Especially with so much ruckus with change flying everywhere, all of us need to stay in Peace and know our individual lives are what count truly. Bless you for this wonderful post!! ❤

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  11. I love your writings about Grandma Hodges. I wish I was able to remember more about her. I mostly just remember her apron and her sitting in the chair by the couch at grandma’s. I think your posts about family are my absolute favorite. Thank you so much for bringing up these precious memories.

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  12. Oh, I loved this post. It brought my grandmother and great aunts and their homes back to me. It reminded me that spring will come and I too will see daffodils and colorful birds. And I’ll never forget this thoughtful sentence: “I laugh, when I hear “old people” chided because they don’t like change. They have changed all of their life and it took real substance to endure.” I’m going to remember it and use it in self defense when necessary!

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  13. This reminds me of a favorite anecdote.
    President Reagan was addressing a commencement at an Ivy League school. A student afterwards asked the President:
    “With all due respect, sir, how do you think you can relate with these young graduates? During your generation you didn’t have cell phones, the internet or space travel?”
    Without missing a beat the President replied.
    “You’re right. We didn’t have those things.
    We invented them.”

    Stay warm,

    Paz

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