A month of Memories, April 3rd.

Spring was always my grandmother's favorite time of year. My mother and I would always go to her house in the spring and help her garden. I hated every second of it. Little did I know the impact my grandmother would have on my life. I was just young, impatient and always had something better to do. It wasn't until many years later I realized there were lessons to learn from my grandmother. She was born in 1900. She lived through times that most of us have only read about in history books.

After my Emma Josephine was born, the following spring, I was in the area that my grandmother lived. The church she was buried at was just right down the way. My husband and I picked up some flowers for Mama Helen, her favorite, tulips, to lay at her grave. It was cold for April. It reminded me of her burial in Decemeber, how cold it was, how hard the ground was. It brought tears to my eyes.

My husband stepped back and watched my son as he ran through out the cemetary, while I made my way to Mama Helen with Emma in my arms. Tears began to fill my eyes before I even saw her name. I stood there not knowing what to say, although Mama Helen surely knew my thoughts. I'm one of those "pray outloud" kind of people. So I began,

"Hi Mama Helen. This is my daughter.....
I named her after you."