happiness in the grief

April has been a hard month. Not just for me but for many others I know. But in grief comes goodness.

For instance, I have some of the best co-workers anyone could ask for. Instead of sending flowers to both funerals, they instead gave me a $100 gift certificate to a local flower shop. I knew almost immediately what I would do with it.

On Saturday I bought and planted four fruit trees; one for each grandparent, even the one still living. I could think of no more fitting a tribute to their lives and the impact they each had on me than to plant a tree in their honor.

(I have planted everything, except the mature trees, in this pic)

 

My Terry grandparents had apple trees all over their small farm and my grandmother Terry's home place, at the head of Railroad Fork, was littered with apple trees. They even had an orchard on the side of the mountain. 

My maternal grandparents (Adams) had a peach tree behind their house and it was from this tree that a green snake fell down the back of Mamaw's dress while she was wringing a Sunday Chicken's neck. Needless to say, she slung the chicken into the creek, broken neck and all, in order to free herself of the serpent. Someone downstream enjoyed our Sunday dinner, I'm sure. We had a vegetarian meal instead. But my Mamaw Adams made the best crab apple jelly on the planet from the crab apple tree beside their garden.

Fruit trees: I can't thank my co-workers enough for helping me honor my grandparents.

R-L: Hazel Prater Terry (Jonathan Apple), Hannah Hamilton Adams (Crab Apple), 

Orville "Bodine" Adams (Georgia Peach), Thornton Terry (Elberta Peach)