This is a snapshot in time . . . captured with my vintage Canon AE-1 . . . on Easter Sunday in 1986 . . . in the backyard of my childhood . . . starring my red-headed niece (left) . . . and my blue-eyed niece (right) . . . and Casper the dog . . . in this general area of that backyard is where many tubs of homemade vanilla ice cream were created . . . in the old wooden ice cream bucket . . . with the assistance of lots of manpower (and girl-power) . . . sure miss those backyard cook-outs . . . and tomatoes and new potatoes fresh from the garden . . . and ice-cold watermelons . . .
The two adorable girls in the collage to your right are my little sisters, writing their letters to Santa ca. 1958.
They also appear in the dere santey claus collage in footnoteMaven's 2009 Holiday Edition of Shades the Magazine.
In the excerpt below you will find what I imagine the letter they are writing might have said, as well as samples of some letters to Santa as published in December of 1899 in the Dallas Morning News. Since I am online via a dial-up connection at my home, I like to download Shades from it's bookshelf at issuu.com, and then view it page-by-page in PDF format.
On this date in our family history . . . the 5th day of December in the year 1975 . . . my youngest sister, Pam, marries the love of her life, Mike . . . and in that same year . . . I married my Bennie in February . . . and we moved to Flint, Michigan . . . and I hated it there . . . and we came back to Texas . . . and my middle sister, Rebecca, gave birth to her 2nd son, Monty, in June . . . and we threw a surprise party for Mom & Dad's 25th anniversary in October . . . and then another wedding in December . . . 1975 wound up being a rather busy sewing year for my Mom . . . she made my blue velvet wedding dress as well as the dresses for my two sisters (my attendants) . . . and then she made our dresses for this December wedding, and her dress, as well as all sorts of table coverings, etc. for the receptions . . .
In the photo . . . Bennie (1948-2010) & Vickie . . . Robert (my brother) . . . my Dad, Forrest Lee (1927-1996) . . . Pam & Mike . . . my Mom, Roberta (1932-2023) . . . Rebecca holding Monty . . . Dennis (1953-1990) holding Trent . . .
This is a snapshot in time . . . captured with my vintage Canon AE-1 . . . on Easter Sunday in 1986 . . . in the backyard of my childhood . . . starring my red-headed niece (left) . . . and my blue-eyed niece (right) . . . and Casper the dog . . . in this general area of that backyard is where many tubs of homemade vanilla ice cream were created . . . in the old wooden ice cream bucket . . . with the assistance of lots of manpower (and girl-power) . . . sure miss those backyard cook-outs . . . and tomatoes and new potatoes fresh from the garden . . . and ice-cold watermelons . . .
In our immediate family, the month of January is full of significant dates, including the birthdays of my Mom as well as one of her great-grandsons.
Those two particular events were celebrated in 2010 during a family gathering held the last weekend of January.
This collage (click to enlarge) incorporates some of the images I captured during that 2010 get-together (with most photos intentionally made small to protect the privacy of the living). That's my beautiful Mom and the birthday-boy in the center of this collection of memories.
The quote I used in the collage . . . I won't forget you -- ever! . . . is adapted from the final chapter in The House at Pooh Corner . . . which tells the story of Christopher Robin as he leaves behind his childhood . . . and his best friends . . .
"Pooh, when I'm - you know - when I'm not doing Nothing, will you come up here sometimes?"
"Just Me?"
"Yes, Pooh."
"Will you be here too?"
"Yes, Pooh, I will be really. I promise I will be, Pooh."
"That's good," said Pooh.
"Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred."
"How old shall I be then?"
"Ninety-Nine."
Pooh nodded."I promise," he said.
On this date in our U.S. history . . . the 9th day of May . . . in the year 1914 . . . President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation setting aside the second Sunday in May as the official Mother's Day -- this day to be a national expression of love and reverence for the mothers of the country. The proclamation, issued 95 years ago today, read in part as follows:
Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.
So if you happen to drive by my house tomorrow, and wonder why there's a flag flying in my yard, it's flying for my Mom and my sisters and the Mommies of my grand-nephews. And it's flying for the grandmas . . .
Tomorrow will be the first Mother's Day for two of my beautiful nieces -- which means that I have officially been a grand-aunt for almost eight months now -- and this collage is for the new Mommies.
- That's my Mom in the lower left corner.
- At the top, on the left, is my middle sister holding her middle child, who is in turn holding her own son in the photo just to the right.
- On the right side of the collage, the lower photo is my youngest sister holding her first born child, who in turn is holding her own son in the upper right photo.
They choose a day to honor her
And rightful homage to her pay,
Yet always I'm compelled to think
That every day is Mother's Day.
Jean Guillaume
