Mother’s Day Thoughts 2021

Tiny feet make their way carefully along the forest path and bright eyes search diligently for just the right flowers. One by one the little fingers pluck the blooms and judge each specimen for smell and color. There will be wild geraniums, Daisy Fleabane, violets and of course Dandelions. A young voice hums “You Are My Sunshine” as each flower is carefully placed in a soda bottle full of creek water. The whole thing is carried back along the trail with great caution so as not to spill a single drop of water from the nearly overflowing bottle. The arrangement is placed on the kitchen table as droplets roll from the sides of bottle to form small puddles on the polished wood. A simple crayon drawing on a sheet of notebook paper portrays green grass, a tree with a songbird with both eyes on the same side of it’s head. A rainbow graces the top of the page and hovering in special place near center of the page is a stick figure with long hair and a triangle dress. Asymmetric letters on the page spell out the words “I Love You Mommy” and is surrounded by red hearts for emphasis. There’s no floral shops anywhere in America that could duplicate the specialness of the bouquet and not a card shop in the world can touch the heart in the way that a child can. The gift is pure desire and love. The flowers and simple drawings are only symbols of it.

Mother’s Day was actually born right here in West Virginia. But what most people don’t remember is that it was born out of the tragedy of the Civil War. West Virginia was politically allied with the North but families and friendships were divided between the Union and the Confederacy. As in any war the biggest loses were in the hearts of the people. Everything else is statistics. Bridges and buildings are easier to rebuild than relationships. After the war there was a lot of anger and distrust that was still smoldering even into my own childhood. It was amid all that division that Anna Marie Reeves Jarvis and her daughter Anna Jarvis conceived the “Mother’s Friendship Clubs”. The story goes that the clubs would meet for a picnic and prayer and that Auld Lang Syne was sung. The legend says that it was after the singing that the politically divided people began to tearfully reconnect and put their differences aside. In those days even the bitter grudges couldn’t withstand the unity of faith in God. And although I’m sure that some of those emotional wounds took longer to heal than others the process worked. It worked so well that even into the early 20th century veterans of both North and South would come together for reunions and reenact charges that this time ended in handshakes and Christian brotherhood. The life of Anna Marie Reeves Jarvis is worth reading. During the Civil War she refused to take a side and provided medical care for all.

It was after her death that her daughter Anna Jarvis worked to make Mothers Day a national holiday. On Mother’s Day it’s right to honor our mothers but while doing so maybe it’s a good idea to consider how it started as a movement to bring peace after the treaty was signed by politicians.

Good night friends and be blessed throughout your days.

Announcement 2.0

For those who have been following me on Facebook and know of the struggle content providers have to get circulation from big tech I’ve been recommending for people to adopt MeWe as a social media platform. One of the problems I’ve run into on MeWe is that people don’t know how to navigate the platform. So to help with that I’ve created a permanent page on my website as a basic Basic Beginner’s Guide To MeWe I’ve tried to anticipate all basic questions there and You can bookmark the page to have as a reference and if you have any questions or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me. I do still have a day job and I help admin several pages on both platforms so replies might be a little slow but I will answer you.

We also have the Lloyd’s Lens Photography Discussion Group on MeWe that is set up as a fully functional community. There you’ll not only be able to see and connect with me but you can also make your own posts and interact with each other.

I want you to join my group on MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/lloydslensphotographydiscussiongroup

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Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simply use the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.