As I crept onto this scene I could hear my mom whistling like a cardinal which she does often. She is Red Bird afterall.
The evening before this picture we sat on her front porch and chatted while Betty Beatrice rolled around in the freshly mowed grass. My mom asked me what I remembered most about Betty Jean as my grandmother and comforting things automatically came to mind....pies, aprons, washing dishes, kind words and open arms. My mom remembered her Granny Bea as clean sheets and church hymns. Poppy said she wants Betty to always think of her comfort and softness but to feel the fun hip side of her.
Rarely a day goes by without Betty seeing Poppy and I am so incredibly greatful for that. She teaches Betty bird calls and flower names. She shows her how to bake bread and the importance of bees and their hives. She makes her sprinkle holy water and hug the dying trees at 822. Poppy is not only earthy, she is soulful. Betty spends afternoons in her chapel reading about saints, learning hymns or Bible verses or lighting prayer candles. They sing together, they laugh together and most importantly they love together. If Poppy has taught Betty one lesson, it is to LOVE ALL THINGS. Love yourself. Love your God. Love your mother. Love your father. Love nature. LOVE.
I don't think a mother could ask for a better Poppy. When I lack patience or feel overwhelmed she is always there to step in with an abundance of imagination and love. I always think of relationships as a well. In friendship, spirituality, love, motherhood, you cannot let your well run dry. It has to be replenished and restored so that you can let your well flow into other's lives. As a mother, it can be so hard to keep your well from running dry. I think that is why God made grandmothers. Her well is always overflowing and ready to make her relationship with Betty better than it was the day before.
Betty is so fortunate to receive the very best of my mother (and by that I mean all the good stuff without the discipline). She is touched by her comfort, her worldliness and her spirituality. She is Red Bird afterall.
To become a grandparent is to enjoy one of the few pleasures in life for which the consequences have already been paid. ~Robert Brault
