A SIMPLE ACT OF REMEMBRANCE

Dad and I did a lovely thing together today. We were invited by two local organisations to hang a tag in memory of Mom on their Christmas trees. Each tree already had many other tags but there was still space for our memory. We spent some time reading the other tags, the fond memories of loved ones. It was so moving. 

Afterwards we sat together and had coffee and set up Dad's Christmas tree. It's lovely to have light and colour in the house at this time of year. I hope it will be of some comfort to Dad.

It got me thinking about what other families do throughout the year to keep the memory of departed loved ones alive in their hearts. I'd love to hear from you, if you do something special that could also help other families.

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MOM'S GARDEN

One of Mom's very good friends reminded me this week of Mom's love for gardening. She loved flowers and she was as colourful as her garden. But Mom was also a gardener of people. She gathered her friends around her and helped them bloom. She cared deeply for them and nurtured the relationships, keeping in touch, remembering birthdays and important family events. In fact, Dad and I are struggling to keep this up with the apparent ease that Mom did. She had an incredible memory for names, dates and places.

And in the garden, Mom was no different. She had wonderful ways with plants and colours, and had two huge volumes of plant information. She was always on hand to pass on gardening advice to us and never minded getting her hands dirty. 

I have been a late starter with gardening, but I'm getting there and have learnt a lot in the last year. I have also learnt that special friendships, nurtured and cherished, will last a lifetime, but Mom already knew that.

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