October 24, 2008 . . .

               Remembering Mommie

My brother, Brad Hardin, and I bought this tree--a Pin Oak-- and had the Maryville (Tennessee) historic park (behind Brad's house) plant it in memory of our mother,

Shirley Temple Armistead (Hardin) Neville.

This is the plaque at the base of the tree. Brad and his girlfriend, Marcia, decorated the plaque. Mommie would have liked that. (By the way, I spell our mom's name "Mommie."  Brad spells our mom's name "Mommy." 
Neat huh?)

Our mom died suddenly of an ascending aortic aneurysm on the morning of November 24, 2008.

Basically her heart broke. So did ours.

Brad and I dearly loved her. My friends dearly loved her. And she dearly loved me, Brad, and all my friends.

One of the ways she loved us best was through cooking. Here's one of her bazillion  recipes -- "Cornbread Salad." (There's probably more on the back.) The best thing about this recipe is that it's written in her swirly-Shirley handwriting.

This Thanksgiving Day, November 24,

Brad, Marcia, Dow (Mommie's husband of 17 years), and I will go to the cemetery and say hi

and let her know we miss her

and be thankful for all she meant

and still means

and will always mean

in our lives

and in our hearts.

And so this Thanksgiving I will declare with the Psalmist . . .

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say, 'His steadfast love endures forever.'

Let the house of Aaron say, 'His steadfast love endures forever.'

Let the house of Hardin say, 'His steadfast love endures forever.'

Let those who fear the Lord say, 'His steadfast love endures forever.'

Out of my distress I called on the Lord; 
the Lord answered me and set me free....

(Psalm 118:1-5 with a Kay-tweakism)