Colorchallenge Wednesday - Yellow

Yellow flowers were my Mom's favorite, and they certainly matched her own bright and cheerful disposition. Each morning when she came to wake me up for school she did it with a song. The tune that I remember most was done to reveille;

"You've got-ta get up, you've got-ta get up, you've got-ta get up this morning.
You've got-ta get up, you've got-ta get up, you've got-ta get up today!"

she would be singing as she came towards my room in the morning, and she also hummed while she worked. whether it was cleaning the house or cooking dinner she was humming away with a big smile waiting for you if you happened to walk by. On the rare occasions when Mom wasn't cheerful we all knew that something terrible had happened, it usually meant that someone was very ill or had died.

I grew up financially poor in a small rural Alabama home, but I never realized as a child either how poor I was or how wealthy I was. We may not have had a lot of nice things, but we were showered with love and we were encouraged to be cheerful, creative and resourceful in our work, and imaginative in play. Mom taught us how to take any toy or game a create many new and fun things to do with them. We probably had ten or more different sets of rules for monopoly alone, not to mention all the different uses and games that we created using the monopoly money! We learned to take care of what little we had and make it go a long way.

Looking back I realize the value of a loving home full of joy and cheer. I feel bad for the children that I see who grow up in homes where they are unloved and not properly cared for. I can't even imagine being in a home and being abused or mistreated by those who should have natural affection and concern for my well being. I remember as a kid the first time that I saw, and heard another child get a beating from his father and I was both terrified and shocked. My own Dad had to take me aside and calm me down. He explained to me as best he could what had happened and why. Now I can tell you for sure that I certainly did receive discipline as a child and I cried from being corrected and occasionally getting a switch. But I was never beaten and I never had to scream out in pain or terror from my parents. So I count myself being rich indeed, because not only was I raised by honest, hard working, cheerful and loving parents, but they also showed love with a measure of restraint when I needed correction.

These yellow flowers today are for my Mom, and they are just the way she would like and appreciate them. A bright spot in an otherwise drab and forlorn setting.