(Unless otherwise noted, the Kathryn Tucker Windham blog is written by her children, Ben Windham and Dilcy Windham Hilley.)
Life is full of troublesome things. Mother had more than her share of troubles in the course of her long life, but she had a forge-ahead spirit that didn’t allow her to dwell on the dark parts. When I was troubled by life’s little snags, I often called Mother for sage advice. Generally, she had wise words to head me in the right direction, but sometimes she just didn’t have any guidance to give. In those rare circumstances, she would simply pause for a moment and say, “Well, you know, things have a way of working themselves out.” And it’s true. Rough patches almost always resolve themselves I asked her one time where her optimism and resilience came from. She told me it likely came from her mother, Helen Tucker, who wore her joy on her sleeve. We called my grandmother “Heddie,” likely a child’s first attempts at pronouncing Helen. When Mother was a little girl, Heddie woke her every morning with this verse: “This day will bring some lovely thing. I say it o’er with each new dawn. Some bright adventurous thing To hold against my heart And treasure after it is gone. And so I rise to greet the day With wings upon my feet.” And Mother lived her life by that directive.
8 Comments
Missy
5/22/2017 06:20:49 pm
Thanks to you and Ben for continuing to pass on her wisdom! My Sweet sister Susan wears her Joy on her sleeve too! So blessed to live close to her!
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Dilcy
10/13/2017 01:05:43 pm
You are fortunate to be close to your sister, Miss. Sisters are a wonderful thing.
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John Malone
5/22/2017 09:25:30 pm
I so remember your grandmother, she was always such a sweet lady. I always looked forward to our visits to Thomasville, to visit my mothers family. We would stay a few nights with my great aunt Tab , across the street from Ms. Heddie's house. And get to walk down town with Ms.Tabb to meet Ms. Heddie's,and get a fountain coke after the ladies were done working.
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Dilcy
10/13/2017 01:07:00 pm
Wonderful memories, John---a fountain Coke at People's Drug Co.
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Eddie
5/23/2017 04:16:59 pm
Loved Kathryn... And, she knew that most "rough patches" don't look so rough from a distance down the road.
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Dilcy
10/13/2017 01:07:44 pm
Thank you, Eddie. Yes, she was wise that way.
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Marilyn P Zeigler
7/13/2017 07:28:53 pm
I do love reading your remembrances of your mother.
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Dilcy
10/13/2017 01:08:14 pm
Thanks so much, Marilyn.
Reply
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