Flavia Robertson
My Mother Rose of Sharon
By Fern Albin Ubelhor
Tell City, Indiana
Today, I was at my mothers house to cut her grass. This was such a bad summer. The heat was terrible and the rains were few, but as I mowed the grass, I noticed on her Rose-of-Sharon bush, one purple flower. It was so perfect, I had to just stop and study it.
In so many ways, it reminded me of my 90 year old mother. The flower was on a strong stem that held it so erect and proud and yet it hung in such a way you could see it was out of season.
It was so beautiful and so fragile, yet it was hanging there for the whole world to see and enjoy. It made me know that soon the warm winds of September would blow and the, Sharon Bush would be going to sleep for a long winter and our beautiful flower would also be gone.
When I finished the grass cutting and after I fixed her dinner, it was time for me to return to my own world. I kissed her and a feeling of loneliness filled my heart, for I knew, like the purple flower, my mother would leave me someday and go to eternal sleep like the bush of the Rose of Sharon.
My mother, Flavia Robertson, passed away September 9, 2001. She was 96 years old.
By Fern Albin Ubelhor
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Mothers Day Tributes
Since this is our Mothers Day issue, I wanted to run tributes to mothers. Most of the tributes we receive are written AFTER someone has passed away. Part of this is a result of the fact that many of our readers and contributors are seniors. But I sincerely hope that some of the younger readers will learn something from the stories they are reading and take a look at the priorities in their life.
I know the younger generation can get preoccupied with caring for their own children and earning a living, but one of the goals behind this organization is to obtain stories, information and memories from seniors BEFORE it is to late.
Dealing with seniors and trying to obtain information from them, I have learned that death is not the only element we are facing. Memory loss also plays an active role in causing information to become unavailable. Therefore, I am going to make a plea. I don’t care if you are currently in your 30s, 50s, 70s or 90s. If you have any family photographs, antiques that were inherited from relatives, or special mementos that are important to you, PLEASE start a diary or record where you can list the names of family members, followed by stories and information about them, or the type of jobs and hobbies they had, and anything else you can still remember.
For the younger generation, I would also like to encourage you to write a Mothers Day or Fathers Day or Veterans Tribute NOW, while your family member is still alive. If you write a tribute while they are still alive, I assure you it will mean more to them then any store bought gift or dinner.
I would also like to encourage everyone to give one more very special gift to a loved one. Give them some time. Not just a couple of hours on holidays, but dedicate one Sunday a month, to just sitting and talking with a family member. Have a nice dinner together and then drag out the old family photographs and talk about two or three photographs. Make sure you have a pen and paper handy, so that you can write down names and any other information that is brought up. You might even want to have a small micro cassette recorder handy, just in case someone remembers a great story.
If you could spend one hour a day, every day for the next year, talking with a loved one, and that person dies 366 days from now, I guarantee you that after they are gone, you will think of hundreds of things you forgot to ask them or forgot to write down. That same concept is true of your own children and grandchildren. Ninety percent of the things you are telling them, will be forgotten within 6 months. So, if you want to make sure they will have your stories around forever, encourage them to record them, or else you record your own stories and send us a copy for preservation.
Have a great Mothers Day and I hope you get to share it with a loved one. And don’t forget to send us your Fathers Day tribute, Independence Day memories or tributes to your grandparents.
Have a great month.
Franklin T. Wike, Jr.
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Things to Consider
Can you cry under water?
If money doesn’t grow on trees then why do banks have branches?
Why do you have to put your two cents in.. . but its only a penny for your thoughts? Where’s that extra penny going to?
Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
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Published in U S Legacies Magazine May 2005
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