Daffodils

It was during the Winter of 1994 that I married Lee and moved to the farming community of Vale, N.C., after having lived in Lenoir most of my life.  I left behind a house filled with memories of my first marriage, my husband's sudden death, and the two children we had.  I also left behind a large family that included my Mom, sister & family, and my husband's family whose homes were located in the same vicinity as mine.  I departed with good memories, but also the terrible memory of the death of my first husband at the young age of 43.  Meeting Lee provided a  wonderful, nurturing healing filled with a bounty of love shared by the two of us.

After a long courtship of six years, and with my son and daughter both married with their own homes and families, it seemed like the right decision to marry Lee and move into his farm.  Even though I was happy with this marriage, I was very homesick, and was finding it increasingly difficult to be located a one-hour drive from all whom I had known for so many years.  This included my neighbors, and my church family.  My roots were  planted deeply in the Baton community of Caldwell county.

And so it was in early March of that year, that I was still very homesick, and grieving daily for all I had left behind. In the early Spring, my new husband was working in the backyard in the area of the barn.  From my vantage point at the kitchen window I could see him walking slowly toward the house on the well-worn path.  I thought it odd that he had one hand behind his back.  I heard him open the kitchen door and felt him approach me from behind.  As I turned, he smiled, and handed me a lovely hand-picked bouquet of daffodils that he found growing behind the barn.  Any doubts I had about leaving my home and moving to his farm disappeared in that moment.

Each year, at this time, Lee has continued to appear with his hand behind his back, or in my absence, I will later discover a small mason jar on the kitchen windowsill filled with the daffodils.  His way of letting me know how much he loves me.  After our grandson John moved next door, Lee showed him the daffodil patch and taught him how to pick a bouquet for his Mom, while he picked one for me.

Now to the rest of this story:  When Lee was very sick and was hospitalized @ Baptist hospital, I returned home one week-end for some necessary items.  As I drove along the country roads, the daffodils were blooming......I began to cry because I was afraid I would never again see Lee able to bring me the beautiful daffodils.  Later that evening, I glanced out my kitchen window to see 10-year-old John coming up the path carrying a handful of daffodils.  He rang the doorbell and presented them to me with a hug....so like his Grandaddy!

Since Lee came home in November 2010, I have continued to receive those precious Spring daffodils each February or March............whenever they bloom behind the barn.

More Later......................................Brenda