You Can Take it With You

You Can Take it With You

Many life changing experiences include a nod to the past as a way of signifying endurance, a bond, or a talisman of prosperity.

For example: For weddings, we have 'something old and something new'. For baptisms, we have the traditional, familial Christening gown. For burials, we sometimes include a beloved object. All are items of the past.

Moving from a "first' home", or a childhood home, or any home for that matter to a 'new' home can be a due to life altering experience or be a life changer in itself.

Gardening is a passion of mine. My grandmother tended her garden of herbs, vegetables and beautiful flowers. When we went on walks, she would always amaze me by taking a pinch of this plant or that and go home with it. Several months later, I would be surprised by a growing plant that was strikingly similar to those we saw on our walks. She taught me to eat tomatoes right from the vine, still warmed by the sun.

When my mother moved from her home to mine, we brought several plants with her. They were offshoots of her favorite plants that needed to be trimmed anyway. We separated and brought some bulbs along too. 

When you move from one house to the next, you can take some plants with you providing: a) do it before the house is on the market, put it in a pot and replace the plant with another one. No large gaping hole should be left. b) or use trimmings to take with you. You will have to check which are transplantable. Or 3) get the OK in writing from the new buyer.

Seeing these plants today brought back nostalgic memories of another time and another place. They provide a sense of comfort, of continuity, of recollection.

Next Sunday is Mother's Day. 

As I will not have either my grandmother or my mother by my side, I could not wait to say Hello, when I looked out my window and saw their blooming flowers. 

Happy Mother's Day one and all!