While relishing another spring walk last Tuesday, I saw coltsfoot along the road. These pretty golden wildflowers are the first flowers of spring. They cheered me so much.
After I got home, I investigated my own plants. My pussy willow is sporting its silky-soft, dove gray catkins. Pale green buds poke out of my lilac branches, and, best of all, my daffodils look ready to bloom as soon as we have a couple warm days in a row. I can’t wait!
My daffodils don’t look like the trumpet-shaped ones you may be picturing in your mind. I have old-fashioned daffodils, probably planted by my Aunt Barbara Rath, who, along with my uncle, the Reverend Virgil Rath, built our house. They have clusters of petals and are closer to gold than lemon yellow.
Aunt Barbara also planted an old-fashioned rose bush, which will bloom in June. Have you ever seen one? It’s totally different from long-stemmed roses. It’s a big, round bush and its flowers are about the size of a half dollar (Does anyone remember half dollars?). They have the most intoxicating, real rose scent, too. Their petals are as soft as a newborn’s skin.
I visualize Aunt Barbara planting daffodil bulbs in the fall, anticipating their beauty the following April. I can almost see her smiling as she carefully places a starter old-fashioned rose bush in the ground. I imagine her longing to smell her roses in June.
We all want to be remembered for something, don’t we? Isn’t it interesting, though, that something as small as planting daffodils or a rose bush could draw your face to someone’s mind?
Baking is another way to make an indelible mark in your family’s memory. My late Grandma, Josephine Louden, used to make angel delight for Easter. It’s this fabulous lemon pudding and angel food cake dessert. Just bake an angel food cake and tear it into medium-sized pieces. Then make the cooked style lemon pudding and layer the pudding and cake in a big glass bowl. You can make it the day you’re serving it or the night before.
It’s so yummy. And it triggers a memory. My mom and aunt remember their mother making this for Easter. And now my mom makes it at Easter. I’m sure I’ll make it for Easter someday, too.
You know, Easter is less than two weeks away. If there’s a food your grandma used to make, make it this Resurrection Sunday. Cook with and for your loved ones. Remind them of special family recipes. And teach your children or grandchildren to love it as much as you do.
Plant flowers this spring. Annuals are okay, after all. Plant some petunias or impatiens along the side of your house. Then plant tulips or daffodils this fall. It’ll give you something to look forward to in the spring.
And consider this: who knows who will live in your house 50 years from now? Aunt Barbara and Uncle Virgil have been with Jesus for many years. But in 2019, 50 years after they dug the basement, I’m still cherishing the daffodils Aunt Barbara planted.
All God’s blessings to you.