What’s in a Name?

I bet you’re wondering why I chose the name “Oaks and Magnolias” for my blog !? I understand – it’s not exactly obvious. So – let me explain.

I’m a Southern girl. I grew up in the little town (it used to be very small!) of Covington, Louisiana. Covington isn’t too far from New Orleans, so I had the experience of both city and country while growing up.

You’ve probably seen pictures of the areas around New Orleans – all those grand, ancient, live oak trees, draped with Spanish moss, their spreading branches making wonderful shade to cool off under on a hot, humid summer day. If you’ve been near one of those grand old oaks, you might have noticed the huge roots growing out from the base of the trunk in every direction. And your shoes probably crunched a lot of the acorns that were lying on the ground under the canopy of branches.

Okay, got the picture? I really identify with those oak trees. They were always around when I was a kid – the live oaks, the water oaks, the post oaks, the laurel oaks – all types of oak trees, each with a different leaf, a different bark, a different silhouette, and a different acorn. I absolutely LOVED those trees when I was a girl – I spent hours playing under the canopy, gathering acorns to “cook” and bake into “bread,” making “beds” out of the moss that fell on the ground beneath the branches. When I think of oak trees, I think of HOME. I still live in the South, but not in Louisiana. I’m in Texas, not far from Houston, and fortunately, we have an abundance of oak trees here, too – but it’s not quite the same. Some of them are different – leaves, acorns, and only a few around here have drapes of Spanish moss. No matter – I love them all.

I sort of think of myself in Oak Tree terms – I like to believe that I’m a strong woman. Perhaps a Renaissance woman, too! I’ve planted my “seeds” (acorns?) in the several places I’ve lived around the world. My daughters and grandchildren are my acorns – they are my legacy. I also relate to those spreading branches – I like to nurture and offer a place of rest to my family, when I can! And the branches – reaching wide – well, I have bunches of interests and hobbies and so I’m like those trees – reaching into everything and in all directions. Ditto for the spreading, powerful root systems – each place I have lived, I’ve sent down deep roots. It’s been rough when I had to leave and move on – pulling up roots is HARD, even if the place itself wasn’t a favorite one.

Also, I love the variety of these fine trees and their acorns – so different and yet somehow the same.

And now – MAGNOLIAS.

This one might be easier to explain. In front of the house I lived in as a child, there was a huge Southern magnolia. It was right outside my bedroom window – and we had open windows except in the coldest weather, because we didn’t have air conditioning! Can you imagine – summer in the deep South – at least 5 months of really hot, humid weather – and no AC? I don’t have to imagine it, I lived it. I loved the glossy leaves and huge, white, organic flowers on the magnolia tree. Their wonderful scent used to drift into my bedroom windows at night. For a while, we had a rope swing on the tree, too.

I hope I’ve managed to explain why I chose this name for my blog. I’m blogging about a full life and everything that makes life full, good, meaningful, and fun. Life was good then, and the trees were part of that growing-up life. For me, two pieces of my good life are oaks and magnolias and all the memories and sensations they call up. I identify with them as part of the time when I was becoming … me.

I could write more about this, but I think I’ve covered it well enough so that it’s no longer a mystery. Questions? Comments? Do you identify with something from your childhood? Tell us in the comments – and hey, this might make a good journaling prompt, too. What do you associate yourself with – something from your past or your present? Why?

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