Another Sweet Reminder.....

My mother died in June 2010 when she was 89 years old. Not a day goes by when I don't think of her or remember her in some way. I guess this isn't all that unusual.

I have reminders all over our condo. I sit at her desk in the family room window and look out at Lake Michigan. I have one of her Swedish dala horses on our book shelf. It's bright orange so easily catches my eye. I have a needlework piece hanging in the same room and it used to be in her kitchen. I made a small quilt out of one of her old tablecloths. I kept her fall jacket and still wear it when the season is right. I have a small basket on my night stand that used to be hers....now it holds a nail file, my ear plugs and cuticle scissors. The oil painting she created after a trip to Sweden hangs in the hallway and a beautiful winter scene by Dale Wilson that used to compliment her dining room now hangs over our fireplace.

So there are lots of little things that often prompt her face to pop into my brain.

It happened again this morning. When she died, my sister and I organized a memorial gathering the evening before her funeral service. Many of her neighbors and friends came and shared hugs and memories with us and it helped to ease the heartache. Someone sent a lovely plant and it was up at the front of the room at the funeral home, near mom's casket. I decided to take it home with me.

I'm not much of a gardener and houseplants don't normally last very long.....usually succumbing to benign neglect. But I think this is some kind of a "cast iron" plant....a shot of large varigated green leaves, it sits in a basket next to the doors leading to the deck. I remember to water it maybe once a week or so....but it is very forgiving. If I forget to water it and notice that the leaves are really drooping, all I have to do is give it a healthy dose and the next day "she" is perky and green and happy all over again. She moved from our home in Bay View and settled in nicely at the condo.  And this plant, obviously, makes me remember my mother whenever I walk through the room and catch a glimpse.....or go out onto the deck.....or douse her with water.

Today, January 28, 2016 I suddenly noticed something new. She is blooming! There are at least five or six white "things" starting to open. Wow.....not only did I manage to keep my plant alive she seems to be thriving. Or sending me a middle-of-the-grey-winter hug from my mom.

Wow....yesterday it was bananas. Today my plant. Lovely.