Sentinel of Spring

As winter gives up the fight, year after year, and lets the sun prevail we are immersed in Spring. A time when renewal is all around us. In my Kentucky Home the signs of spring come with the Crocus and the Red Bud; shortly followed by the pure white of the Dogwood.

My Aunt and Uncle's house sitting right in the heart of my hometown was no stranger to Spring and it's colors. In the early seventies when my Aunt and Uncle built their home they made sure of that. The yard hosts three Dogwoods; one, in my opinion could be the prettiest in town. They also planted two Red Buds, time took its toll on one and it had to be cut down a few years ago. Even still, the yard used to be filled with color when their Apple, Pear and Peach trees would bloom, but these trees are no more as well. And though these trees have been silenced by natures duty the flowers of spring prevail.

Scattered throughout Ami and Gar's yard you will see an array of species of Daffodils. Then there are the Hyacinths and the Blue Bells, the Forsythia, Japonica, and Snow Balls...they all rear their heads in Spring. And as the weather in Texas begins to feel that way my mind drifts back to my childhood "home away from home," which was Ami and Gar's house.

These two began babysitting me when I was about three years old. I know I would have loved going to their house even if their yard was paved but it wasn't...it was filled with beautiful flowers and trees. At an early age I developed a love for these plants. A great many people say I have an old soul and I would say that soul was nurtured at their house. A place surrounded by bird feeders and bird houses, a refuge for the Cardinal and the Sparrow. Lunch at 10:30 A.M., the Fire Houses whistle marked noon, and As the World Turns at 2:00; just like clock work. I like to think that I was as much a part of their lives as they were of mine.

My uncle was born in February of 1919, the youngest son of Dan and Jesse Gentry Witherspoon. Most people in Dawson Springs that remember him will refer to him as Spoony. He was the youngest of four boys and graduated High School with my Grandfather Decola in 1939. Gar was in the U.S. Army during World War II, upon returning from the War he worked at Outwood, Decola Franklin Coal Company, and was a Civil Servant at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. People in Dawson Springs always knew that Spoony knew where and how to fish; and if you look through our family photos you might begin to think the same way.

My Aunt was born in September of 1929, just days before the stock market crashed. Aminell Russell she was and she was the sixth of eight children, my Nannie's youngest sister. She grew up to marry Garland in 1948 and when he died they had been married forty eight years. Ami and Gar took time for me all my life and this morning both of them were on my mind. I am sad to say that I won't see their yard this spring, but it is etched in my memories for a lifetime.

My Aunt celebrated her 80Th birthday this past September and she is one of the kindest people I have ever met. Out of all you gave me my Dear Aunt, you gave me your love for the earth and all it's bounty. That I will treasure.