Halcyon Days

Any writing teacher will tell you that to be a good writer you must also be a good reader. I’ve always considered myself a good reader but recently, since I started writing this blog in fact, my reading times get short shrift. You see, I have a habit of keeping the dictionary at my elbow so I can look up words unfamiliar to me. Often though I also look up words I know well just to get a fresh take on them. This evening I came across the words “Halcyon days.” 

The dictionary had only three words to describe Halcyon. I wanted more but here are the three: tranquil, happy and idyllic. Immediately I thought of my own Halcyon days and they brought back times spent with my two grandmothers. Why is it that grandmothers are so generally loved? I only know why mine were. They were good women. By good I mean just plain good. Nothing pretentious or unkind or unloving about either of them. I cannot remember either of them uttering a word of gossip or criticism. 

Grandmother Darling was a city dweller while Grandma Hahn lived in the country. When I lived with Grandmother Darling I remember her waiting for me to get ready for church. She would be a half hour before our estimated out-the-door sitting in her chair, upright with hat, gloves and purse. She didn’t need to urge me to hurry up; the mere sight of her was enough to quicken my pace. In church when she opened her purse to pull out her hanky the fragrance of her violet cologne wafted out in subtle sweetness. To me that scent was so much her I loved it.  As a devout Christian Scientist she lived her religion without preaching. It showed in her face. At bedtime she could recite the 23rd Psalm so you’d swear she knew the Shepherd. She would also, on rare occasions, surprise me with a colorful clean humorous story or joke. Somewhere in her past she was the president of the local Browning Club. 

About my Grandma Hahn. I guess the word to describe her might be servant. Not servile, but the kind of servant the Bible would describe as an honorable woman, one who serves God by serving her family and neighbors and church. She was a faithful Methodist and could recite the Sermon on the Mount from beginning to end as well as numerous other passages of the Bible. Grandma Hahn had her Sunday clothes too including hat, gloves, purse and fan for hot Sundays and long sermons, but when I think of her I see her in a fresh apron, her hair tied up in a bun. In the kitchen. The scent that would describe Grandma Hahn best would be that of freshly baked warm molasses cookies. 

Grandma Hahn had been a country school teacher before she married and Grandmother Darling had owned her own millinery shop, but that’s not something I would remember, other than it came up in quiet mention now and then. Each one was proud, I think, to have had something else going for them before she became "Mrs." I remember too that both my grandmas had large intriguing walk-in pantries in their kitchens. When I could tag along on a trip to the attic or basement in either house I'd be delighted.

Each of my grandmothers had their social interests too. Grandma Hahn was a member of the Ladies Aid Society and the WCTU. (For those who want to look that up, it's the Womens' Christian Temperance Union.) And Grandmother Darling was a member of the local Browning Club, even president once or twice.

Best of all, each of them made me feel special. They praised my sketches and how well I could play the piano. On occasions they'd take me to their meetings. On the way home I'd be rewarded by a comment on my behavior. "Joycie, you acted like a little lady today."

So, now you see why those words, “Halcyon days,” yanked me out of the book I was reading, pulled out my notebook and pen, then dragged me over to the computer tonight. Sometimes I think these days are my Halcyon days and they are, but that’s because I spend a goodly amount of time in them remembering other Halcyon days. In early morning hours when I’m up before daybreak, on lazy afternoons out on the patio with my rocking chair and flowers, I feel the Halcyon days of yesteryear as tangibly present in my heart as the ones of today are present by the clock.

Now I’ll try to get back to that book and hope that another word or expression in it doesn’t send me back to the keyboard. (These blogs take time!) Maybe you can stop a minute after you’ve read thus far and think of your own Halcyon days. One word of caution, though, be careful not to let any sad or mad or bad imps sneak in under those Halcyon skirts! Let your Halcyon days lady honor the dictionary. Let them reflect the tranquil, happy and idyllic.  There could be no better tonic when you're alone in your rocking chair in your advancing years.