Coming Soon!
This is the time of year that the daffodils are spiking upward here in Oysterville. It’s the time of year that the days grow longer and my thoughts inevitably turn garden-ward. Hard on the heels of “I must get out there soon” I think of Kaye Mulvey Cowan. She is my role model when it comes to gardening – and other things, too!
Kaye is almost exactly ten years older than I. (Happy 91st, Kaye!) Ten years ago or so, when Kaye was just about the age I am now, she and Les came over for a Friday night gathering. Kaye looked, as usual, like a million bucks (as my dad would have said) and Les remarked that she had spent six hours straight in the garden that day. “Getting rid of the ravages of winter,” Kaye said.
Kaye at 90!
She said her hands were sore and her shoulders were suffering a bit, but she shrugged it off as no big deal. I was impressed. Already, I was feeling overwhelmed with garden duties and our yard isn’t anything spectacular. Not like Kaye’s was in those years when it was on this and that garden tour. But, I thought to myself, if Kaye can still do her own gardening, so can I. And I realized that, in gardening matters of the energizer-bunny variety, Kaye Mulvey Cowan is my role model.
She is my shining example in matters of style and personal presentation, as well. She always is coiffed, made up, and dressed to perfection. I’ve never seen the inside of her closet but it must be amazing. Kaye has an outfit for every occasion. She puts all the rest of us to shame. If I can just be neat-and-tidy, never mind the stylish part, I feel I’ve followed her example about as well as an admiring younger woman can do!
If you think of role models as being a bit older than their devoted followers (and I do), you must face the fact that they become scarcer as our years advance. I feel lucky that Kaye is still out there in front of me, showing me the way to age with grace and determination. I still have hopes of growing up to be just like her!
A role model, as you are to me! I find it serendipitous us that you mention daffodils!