Hammer & Halo
I come from barns, out houses and tobacco farming; The land of fried pies, chicken coops and wild blackberry picking for cobbler making. A place where stack cakes, fried green tomatoes, corn bread and biscuits were a required know how for any respectable cook. And let’s not forget to give a shout out to the all mighty quilt making and the beautiful masterpieces that tradition has produced.
She was my Father’s mother. I didn’t have her for long in my life but long enough to know that she was an Angel that walked among us. My Mom always called her an “Earth Angel”. What an absolutely fabulous name for your mother in law, right?
A couple of Mamaw’s quilts.
I always remember her laugh and the effortless way she gave it all she had! I remember the fun way she would toss her head back and tip her foot to help her lean back to get the biggest laugh out of her lungs that she could. This was my Mamaw. I haven’t known anyone like her since and doubt I ever will.
And the things that made her laugh? A big marshmallow popped in her mouth while she’s napping on the couch with her mouth open! She’d wake up not startled, but laughing!! And how about the failed efforts of her granddaughters attempting to assist with making pea dumplings??? I’m sure Mamaw is still laughing at us from Heaven!!
Pieces of her kitchen that live in mine now.
She was just fun with a halo on it. She loved her baking…. she even had a HUGE drawer of flour in her kitchen. Never saw anything like it before and never since! Bags of flour were too much to mess with for Mamaw. She needed easy access and she needed it often so why not fill a drawer with it?
But she was clever like that.
And how did she meet my Papaw? This is straight out of a fairy tale but she literally put a note in a bottle in a river!! He found it and the rest is history. He read the note, tracked her down and that began our legacy!
I’m totally enamored with this nugget of new found family history. I mean, how many of us can say their lineage can be traced back to a love note in a bottle?
But my Papaw was the hammer in the house. You did not cross him- so the legend goes….of course he was pretty mellow by the time I met him but his reputation proceeded him. I’ve heard stories and he was full of tough love.
But he never minded any of us grandkids (there’s about 35 of us) climbing in his lap and playing with his pocket watch! I will always remember that watch stuck in the bib of his overalls with the little dangling chain attached.
These are the roots of my story. The blessings poured out, blessings bestowed on that generation, and their children and their children’s children and generations beyond.
They were a God-fearing, Bible believing, faith filled duo who set up their 10 children, 35+(I’ve lost count) grandchildren and who know’s how many great grandchildren, and great great grans etc… for a spiritual heritage that’s beyond words.
Except one word that comes to mind… and that’s gratitude.
Gratitude for their faithfulness; faithfulness when times were hard, and they were ALWAYS hard. East Tennessee in the ‘30’s; no inside plumbing; no central heat; winters were cold; life was harder than I can even imagine. Unending chores beckoned relentlessly from the hilly farm every day.
And here I sit, a product of a heritage that some details I will never know but fills me with pride.
So in this post that started out as an ode to mothers, which took my thoughts back to generations before, I truly from the bottom of my heart say “Thank you Mamaw”. Thank you for your romantic instinct with your creative idea, the note in the bottle and trusting God.
As we get closer to Mother’s Day, may each of you have a moment to reflect on those who came before you, those who blazed your trail, those strategic moments in life when decisions were made to carry the weight of generations to come ….and what a difference that made.
We all have those in our family history or in our story somewhere. May you discover those and celebrate the mothers, aunts, grandmothers, great grandmothers, mothers in law, cousins, sisters, sister-in-laws, mentors, friends, all those women that have poured into us, prayed for us and helped each of us weave our stories.
This is a blessing. Embrace it and be thankful. God gave us our people, our tribe. Love them as He first loved us. He knew we couldn’t do it alone so he gave each of us a them. And a lot of them are like moms to us. May you have a marvelous season of celebrating them.
The Scriptures I referred to in this post are from the New International Version:
Numbers 6:24-26: May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Deuteronomy 7:9: Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.
Psalm 103:17-18: But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children”s children with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
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Blessings - Rhonda
An ode to my roots with the random collection of Blue Mason jars I own and proudly display.