The first time I planted flowers in my front yard was an autumn that Andy was fighting to recover from one of his many surgeries. It also was the first time awareness hit that he and I might not have many more years left together, and I was not sure if he would even live through the winter.
It is always good to have some hope to cling to, something to have a bit of control over. So I planted dozens of daffodil bulbs, thinking and hoping that Andy would be home from the hospital to see them bloom in the spring. I called them my "Hope Flowers," because I was hoping for a bright future. Or if nothing else, I would have something pretty to look at if... he...... NO! STOP!!! I didn't want to think about the other possibility!
He lived to see the daffodils bloom twice. The second time he only was able to see them because, for some reason, they bloomed in February that year; on the very last day of his life. Yet still, all these years later those flowers remain a symbol of hope for me each year that they bloom, and the wind whispers to me of undying love as it rustles through the leaves.
I have continued to work on the flower beds ever since that first year, and Shelby, John, and more recently Arthur have helped me with a variety of plantings. Here is my flower garden this summer. The different blooms represent love of the past, beauty of the present, and hope for the future. For me, hope, like love, never dies.
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1 comment:
I have had this post up on my computer screen for awhile now, because I did not have time to read it, but I had a feeling it was worth saving so that I could read it when I had more time. I just read it and it was worth waiting for. Your story of the flowers touched my heart. I especially love the last couple of lines:
"The different blooms represent love of the past, beauty of the present, and hope for the future. For me, hope, like love, never dies." May your life continue to be filled with love of the past, beauty of the present, and hope for the future."
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