January 29 means just one thing to me and that’s Mother’s birthday. She was born in 1921 and had a grand total of eighty eight birthdays.
She grew up on a farm in Co. Meath and adored nature more than anyone I’ve ever met. I’ve been thinking about her a lot today and was thrilled to see that the first daffodil in my garden bloomed forth over night to join the snowdrops which were always such a symbol of her birthday.
I loved hearing stories about her youth and especially how she and her big brother spent endless hours out riding their ponies. They were inseparable and shared all sorts of passions, including poetry. She used to tell me of how when they were supposed to be going to sleep, they would be whispering the lines of poems to each other through their open bedroom doors. This is one of the verses that she would burst into from those days:
When sorrows come sobbing
To clutch at the breast,
When trouble comes robbing
The heart at its rest,
When cash columns addle
The brain as they may:
Swing into the saddle,
To horse and away!
To horse and away
To the heart of the fray!
Fling care to the Devil for one merry day!
( From Galloping Shoes: Verses by Will. H. Ogilvie, 1922)
It wasn’t until after she died that I found this photograph from her childhood. It was tiny and the fact that it was a picture of Mother and her brother on horseback with their parents in the frame only revealed itself when I managed to enlarge it. I’d say Mother was about seven or eight when it was taken.
It’s a photograph that makes me smile and hope that if by some chance there is a heaven that Mother has been able to spend today running in the woods among the snowdrops and riding her beloved Jock with her big brother as they recite every line of poetry they ever knew.
Lovely memories Jean and a great photo.
Thanks Andrea. It was wonderful to see the photo coming to life from the tiny little thing it was.
I love the lines in that poem, and the picture of your Mom and her brother is very heart warming.
Joni, the poem has been with me all my life. It speaks volumes, I think, and certainly says a lot about Mother and how she viewed life.
So sorry Jean, I know you miss her terribly, big hugs from me, XOXO
Hi Lennon, many thanks for your kindness. Yes I miss her but, at the same time I’m glad that she isn’t still here with no quality of life. Her presence is always with me. I was so fortunate to have such a loving, caring, inspirational mother for as long as I did. xx
What a beautiful tribute to you mother. Loved the poem and the photographs
Many thanks, Joseph. She was very special to me.
Happy birthday to your mother. Hope it was a pleasant day travelling down memory lane.
Hi Tric, thanks very much. Must say that Mother is always very much part of me and we share a love of country lanes, especially ones that lead to the sea !
Oah! The missing never stops, but our memories bring a little comfort and closeness. Enlarged your dear Mum’s face on my iPad, she looks as if she is ‘fully mindful’ in the moment. Our photos are so precious….and all the pictures in our mind.
Bx
Hello Bern, thanks very much for writing.
I agree about the missing but I give thanks that she is at peace and that I have such a treasurev trove of memories to draw on.
What a lovely photograph, and the perfect poetry to go with it.
Suz, glad you like both poem and photo. They mean a lot to me.
So touching Jean! xxxxx
Ah, thanks Willow. xx
🙂
Thank you for sharing Jean, wonderful photo and the poem too. Also very special is Ogilvie’s connection with the Australian outback and his love of dogs and horses. I was thinking about my Mum today as I made our morning cuppa. My routine would be to ring Mum on a Sat morning after we had morning tea. As the years pass, the hurt passess too and this allows the good memories to come to mind:) Well for me anyway…
Hi Olga, that’s fascinating about Ogilvie. I noticed Sydney alright as one of the places of publication. I must read up more about his life and times. The book is a delight that’s been in my life always.
What a lovely post, Jean. You could have been speaking about my own dearly missed Mum who was born on the 21st January 1922! She too loved poetry, horses and nature although I lost her in 1980 and will miss her every day, forever. I would give anything to hear more of her stories…
That’s certainly a coincidence, Frances. Where was your mother born?
Blyth, Northumberland. Mum Scottish (Isle of Lewis) and Dad’s family Irish (Mallow). 🙂
Lovely parts of the world, that’s for sure.
Wonderful! And more synchronicity: today I’ve been scanning a little photo album that was my great aunt’s, and there were several pictures of my mother as a child. I’m about half way through now, and eager to finish and show them to my nieces. Lovely to read the comments and see how much we all love our mothers.
Sandy, that’s great that you found those photos.
Yes, mothers are special for many, many people. It must be awful not to get on.
This post is perfect for your mother’s birthday. The picture is lovely. Your mother and her brother must have had so much fun with the ponies.
Hi Sheryl, oh they had great fun and both were mad into horses all their lives as was their young sister.
A fantastic find – perfect time travel Jean. I like nothing more than scanning and enlarging old images, it is amazing the detail you can find.
Hi Robin, I’m still thinking about those images of your father’s that you pieced together. That was a find and a half.