Just not the same without them

Springtime brings so many thoughts of my parents making it a little tough at times but also nice as I
remember all the times I had with them and the wonderful people they were. They both loved spring-time immensely, for different reasons.
My mom was a teacher and I think the warming weather and longer days reminded her that the school year was just about to let out for the summer. Not only did that bring her a break from her students but it also brought a slight break in her own childrens busy schedules. Now that I'm a mom, I can't imagine trying to keep up wih 4 very active children, that are all close in age, and three of them being boys, as she did.

My dad loved being outdoors. He would plant the biggest gardens ( as kids we didn't appreciate this) and take care of it and the yard and the pastures - 4 acres in all. He would later earn a 'master gardener' certification and started dabbling in grafting plants and was learning about honeybees in hopes of starting his own colony farm (not even sure what you'd call that). He'd spend cool summer nights (all night) irrigating the pastures, keeping them green for my horses and the calves he'd occasionally raise for beef. I remember he had the worst Hay Fever ever, yet that didn't even stop him from enjoying the outdoors.

Around my own yard, I have many flowers that I had gotten from my parents' house. Little did I know, at the time, how much they would mean to me. I have some of their Lily of the Valleys in my front yard, as was in theirs and the Irises that were so plentiful at their place now grow just as well here.

 Bleeding Hearts, Columbines, Jacob's Ladder, Tulips, Pansies, Creeping Myrtle and a beautiful Rose are just a few of the flowers that appear every spring and are beautiful reminders of two of the most wonderful people in my life.