Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Happy Birthday Vida Mae!

***Warning*** Long, long post to follow that brought many tears, but was totally worth it.







You know it is odd how you have been on my mind all day. I knew it was your birthday, but for some reason, this year, more than any other, you have lived in my heart. You would have been 95 today. March 8,1995 I received a call my freshman year at ACU that you had gone to be with our Savior! You were a beautiful lady. I remember so much about you, things I love. I, also have those memories I would like to forget. That disease that controlled your life those last years robbed us. I remember those days in Clarksville, Sunday lunch at your house every Sunday, fighting those crazy crawldads, playing in your sewing room, buzzing that button above the bar that would ring that back room...why did it do that? I remember your love for Blue Bell, I remember you dishing it out, pouring that Magic Shell on top, and us sharing it. I remember you humming. Home again, home again, jiggity jog is what you would always say as we pulled your blue car into the garage. I loved sitting with you at church, in the same row...for how many years was it Nanny? And your hats! You didn't go to church without one, usually purple to match your suit and of course a feather. I sing that old hymn that you would sing to me when you pushed me in your swing set to Parker now. He can sing it now too! Then we moved to Paris. I remember you and Buddy coming to bring me the necessities when Mother Nature visitied this unsuspecting 5th grader! Eating at Furrs. Then, you became my roommate! I am so sorry for all those times I was unkind to you. I know you have forgiven me, but a middle schooler sharing her room with her grandmother was uncool or so I thought! You know what I remember...the example you showed me...you read your Bible every night. You were such a kind person. I remember hearing MANY stories about you and how you helped customers at Self Serve by probably never bringing home a pay check yourself. Those last few years were tough. It was so hard to come visit you, knowing you really didn't remember me. You would call my name, but you called everyone my name! I think it was because of that year we shared my full size bed, bathroom, and closet!







Thank you, Vida Mae, for being a Christian example for me. I miss you. I am proud that Emaline carries your name. Happy Birthday Nanny! I love you!



The photos below are really for all of the cousins, but feel free to scroll through our family history! I added some commentary of the pictures in case you have stuck with it this long.You can read who is who on the bottom of this one. Ruby, well she belongs to the faithful commenter Marianne, that is her MIL, and Bessie, well she belongs to Andrea and Lyneil ( and Amy but she never updates her blog). Bessie told me that they gave Buddy that apple to keep her still. I may have to try that on one of my photo shoots! Vida, Bessie, and Ruby above. I think they were visiting someone in Commerce? Any one know the rest of this story? Here they are, all the girls: Bessie was 20, Vida was 19, Ruby was 18, Martha was 2 (Cousin Susan belongs to her, as well as, Missy) and Betty was 7 (Roselyn, Avery, Julie, and Kanyon belong to her). Uncle James wasn't in this picture, with was Will Ed or Hilliard.



The studly man in all these pictures of course is my grandfather. His name was Harry Houston Bowden. A sawmill man, a rancher, and a fisher he was. He was taken before I was ready, before I really knew him with a heart attack on a fishing trip. I love the stories about his love for my grandmother...amazing examples!

14 comments:

Stacey Pearson said...

This is a most awesome post! I love u for your heart and compassion. I know that her legacy lives on in you and you make her so proud! You're the best and i love u!

Susan @ Blessed Assurances said...

you are sweet paige.

I will have you know that my mom used to sing home again, home again jiggidy jig and I sing it now but jeff just looks at me like i have lost my marbles.

we, us cousins, have such a wonderful heritage in those cagle cousins. I loved looking at the old pictures and will one day need to steal some from you to scan to my computer for my own keeping. i will give them back, of course! :)

paige you are a blessing! don't you EVER forget that! God has been faithful to you by setting an example for quiet time for you through your grandmother. it is those memories of my great-grandmother reading her Bible in the wee small hours of the morning that have motivated me to do the same. what a blessing it will be for P & E to see you morning or night reading your Bible too.

thank you for sharing your heart. and don't you forget you are a blessing

(Now I have the longest comment in history!)

Love you
Susan

jenny biz said...

What an amazing heritage she left and developed! Precious memories you share with her! Love you!

The McCarter Family said...

What a neat post and wonderful way to share your memories! I'll have to remember it when it is my granddaddy's bday! I miss him so much. I saw a strong resemblance of you and her in that first pic.
Take care!
Lindsay

The Timberframer's Wife said...

How precious. I know God has a way of making certain memories more vivid and others more dim as the years go by. I loved that post, to see who you come from, and to read your words of love and honor.

Beck Boys said...

What an Awesome job you did on this post. You are so good to keep up with family history and photos. Mama Denton would sing to us jiggidy jig going home as well. How neat that they all passed on special memories to each of us that were part of their family. Thanks for sharing your memeories with us. You are good!!

Karl, Andrea, Kaden and Leland said...

Home again, home again jiggidy jig. That is awesome! Thanks for such a loving and wonderful post. You did an fantastic/honorable job. We are so blessed to have known/be a part of the grandmothers that we have/had.

jaymie said...

Ok, so I had no idea the "home again home again..." thing went back so far...my mom said it to us and of course I say it. I love it!! I loved the pictures of the girls...what a crew. I am so glad they gave us all each other! I read this blog today, Nanny Betty's bday. Lots of thoughts today.

martha crockett said...

Loved your sweet post, and the photos are priceless! Good for you for being such an heirloom keeper.
My granny left the same "jiggety" heritage, but would start with, "To market, to market to buy a fat hog. Home again, home again, jiggety jog!" Must be a southern thing.....

Marianne said...

Want to comment but have to stop crying first. Hope your birthday was wonderful. Thought so much about Aunt Vida on Tuesday--was so proud that David was born on her birthday eventhough your daddy and I were hoping for the 3rd!! And then Aunt Betty's birthday today as well as Uncle Glen's. A week full of sweet memories of truly wonderful people.

Thank you so much for posting all those sweet pictures. Just to let you know, Buddy also home again, home again jiggity jigs! Still!! Even when we come home from the visits to Paris to the Dr. About the picture that you think was in Commerce. Buddy says that they were there because Aunt Bessie was going to school. Wonder if there is more to that story??

Paige, your grandmother was an incredible woman. I have so many sweet memories of her. She and Uncle Harry were great Christian influences. She was amazingly resourceful! If there was a stain on ANYTHING, you knew to take it to her for removal! And the things she kept: bread sacks, butter tubs, used/washed aluminum foil, strings, buttons, . . . Her loyalty to family, a trait that all of those brothers and sisters possess, ran so deep.

I could go on and on. God has truly blessed us in this family and I am thankful to Him for being able to watch your generation raise your children!!!

Thanks for this precious post!
Love you!

Jorge and Amy said...

That was really GREAT!!! Thank you for that . . .at least from a Bessie grandaughter. Commerce. .. might have been when Granddad was in school??? Not really sure. They talked about going there quite a bit during that time. I'll update my blog today.

daughteroftheking said...

I love this post! It was wonderful to hear your heart about your grandmother. The pictures were amazing to see.
Be Blessed!!
Missy J

Margaret K said...

What a sweet, sweet post. Your grandmother sounds like an amazing woman. What a wonderful family you have.

Lynnie said...

I am a little late reading this - I loved Aunt Vida SOOOO much! She was so precious - I write notes in my bible because she did. I spent a lot of time with her when I was little (actually my Mom "farmed me out" regularly to her sisters - could have been the attitude thing we were talking about at the shower on Saturday - I swear I was not THAT BAD!)Thank you for remembering - and thank you for so unselfishly loving her when she was sick. I love to think about all the aunts and my precious Mom Bonner and Miller visiting and waiting for the rest of us to arrive in heaven. What a glorious day that will be when we are all reunited in the presence of our God. Now that's a BIG home again, home again jiggidy jig!