It seems surreal that my Mother is not here. She passed recently having lived 92 years. In the last few years we could see her memory fading and our Mom quietly disappearing. I try to remember the times we shared, whether we were together in the kitchen preparing a meal or tending to the garden that she raised every summer. She was a frugal woman who did not believe in wasting anything. She raised vegetables and canned any extra that we would enjoy throughout the rest of the year. And one of my fondest memories was taking our vegetables, fresh corn, watermelon and cantaloupe to the farmers market where she displayed some of her finest produce to sell. She was an excellent dressmaker, she sewed most of my clothes growing up. And she tried to teach me the art of sewing although it really wasn’t my calling. She made quilts throughout the years, making each grandchild a quilt of their own. The girls were given vintage sunbonnet girl quilts while the boys received vintage fisher overall boy quilts. She loved watching her hummingbirds that would come in numbers in the Spring and flock to the hummingbird feeders that were put out on the porch with sugar water each year.
When I was young my Dad raised cotton on the farm. He worked so hard and Mom always had a big meal on the table when they came in at noontime. In those days almost everything was fried and it tasted so good. She made the best fried chicken and chicken fried steak. Always served with mashed potatoes, cream gravy and coleslaw. But in the summer we had fresh vegetables. We would snap green beans or shell peas in the evenings, gather tomatoes, okra, radishes, onions, beets, cucumbers, asparagus, zucchini and yellow squash, cabbage, turnips, mustard and turnip greens, and sometimes green chiles. Sometimes I wonder how she did it all! My parents worked hard, showed us how to live on a budget and within our means but most of all showed us love. I hope they are together now in peace.
Love Lives On
Those we love remain with us
for love itself lives on,
and cherished memories never fade
because a loved one’s gone.
Those we love can never be
more than a thought apart,
far as long as there is memory,
they’ll live on in the heart.
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An Inspired Cook 