Today is my Mom's birthday and I'm late getting this post up. We've spent the whole morning at a soccer tournament, that's where we were yesterday too. And just as always my parents drove out to watch Sweet Pea's team play yesterday.
My Mom is one of the people that really influenced how I feel about gardening. With four busy daughters she always had a our yard looking beautiful. I found a funny picture of her the other day that was too faded to scan, but she was on her hands and knees weeding.
Sunflower 'Mammoth'
When we were younger we would wake up to a chore list on the weekends where we had to pick a few to do. Mostly things like folding laundry or vacuuming the stairs (the chore we all hated). The outdoor chores were always the ones I avoided. It's funny because I'd much rather weed than do housework now. But on the weekend my Mom would be out there weeding or carrying bags of compost around or dividing plants. I learned most of what I know about gardening from her. I'm sure when I was a teenager the last thing she would've thought I'd have as a hobby as an adult would be gardening.
Sunflower 'Lemon Queen'
My Mom made their garden beautiful so my husband and I could have our wedding in their backyard, something I hope one day my daughters will want to do. She loves spending special time with all of her grandchildren; making long trips with my Dad to attend sporting events from here to Idaho. She's spent lot's of time teaching Sweet Pea how to knit and cook. She's a 7 year survivor of Ovarian cancer who taught us all how to stay positive in tough times. I think she was the strongest of all of us during her surgery and chemotherapy treatments. We're all so glad she's been healthy since then. "You are my sunshine" is one of the songs she sang to us when we were younger, and now sings to her grandkids.
Happy Birthday Mom!
I would like to with you mom a very happy birthday. May she be blessed with good health and longevity and happiness too. She is definitely the sunshine of your family.
ReplyDeleteI mean 'wish'. It's a typing error.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your Mom! :) What great memories you must have of her garden. She has obviously taught you well as your garden shows. Lovely photos to go along with today's post too!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how much I love sunflowers...aren't they exciting!!!
ReplyDeleteMy greetings to your Mom and good wishes on her birthday. It is inspiring to read about her.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your Mom-uh sunshine:) How wonderful you grew up with her gardening.
ReplyDeleteCatherine~~ I'm sure you know how lucky you are. Blessed! And she loves gardening.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how difficult it was to watch your mother go through cancer--that helpless feeling when someone you love is suffering. Thank God she's well now.
I hope she has a wonderful day.
happy birthday to your mom, she must be a great insperation. I love your gardens and can see she was a very good teacher. I have my dad's love of gardening to thank. There is nothing better to unwind then to go out pull some weeds, smell the flowers and work up a good sweat. Fixes what ails you. Smile DAR!
ReplyDeleteI sang the song in my mind before the computer loaded your blog. It is a great blog and even though we didn't appreciate it as kids, we received a great work ethic from them. I have taught children for 35 years plus and they don't know much about responsibility and work. Happy Birthday to your mom. Great blog.
ReplyDeleteGlad you celebrate your mom's strength and wisdom. That is refreshing to hear and see. Love the mammoth!
ReplyDeleteI sure love the macro shots of those...the centers are so detailed and the flowers are so bright and cheery! Loved those!
ReplyDeleteWOW...simply beautifully captured shots....lovely!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your Mum.
ReplyDeleteGreat sunflowers Catherine
Happy Birthday to your Mom!! Isnt it funny how we grow up to be so much like our parents? I use to complain so much about raking pine straw and other chores. My mama told me once "Well, when you grow up, dont have any trees in your yard". Now I live to be outside doing chores! Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteYour sunflower pictures are so beautiful! Love that Mammoth!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tribute to post on your Mother's birthday.
She taught you well as we can all see by your garden. And if I'm a good judge of character even over the internet I suspect she did a good job there too. Happy birthday to her and many more healthy ones to come.
Her birthday is one day before mine! Does that mean she's a day older than me? LOL
I'll be humming "you are my sunshine" all night now. My father sang that song to us all the time.
ReplyDeleteI too did not like to garden or help out with outside work when I was younger, and here I am, in the garden all the time. Lovely post.Beautiful gardens you have too.A tribute to your Mother.
What a lovely post! Happy Birthday to her!
ReplyDeleteYour mother sounds very inspiring! Wishing her a Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post for an amazing woman. Happy birthday to your Mom!
ReplyDeleteHope you all have a great weekend and loads of fun at the tourney. GOOOAAAALLLLLLL!
Happy Birthday to your Mom on Bloom Day. Love the sunflowers, especially the bright gold 'Mammoth'.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful story, thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope your Mom reads your blog Catherine. I can't imagine any Mother who wouldn't love to read such a well written piece about them and the wonderful influence they've had on their children. I'm sure she's very proud of you too. How inspiration that she battled ovarian cancer and won. I have a very dear Aunt doing that very thing at this moment so I know the emotional ride it can be. Since I'm late reading this post I'll wish your Mom a happy belated birthday, sounds like she is very deserving of a special day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful birthday message in honor of your mom. The sunflower pictures are perfect, too. Their strength, beauty, love of the sun, nurturance and support of nature around them, and so on all seem to match everything you've described about your mom. My mom's birthday was the day before yours, in fact. She's a sunflower to me, too. :)
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