Okay...so I have been in TOTAL denial now for a couple of months that my dear friend was moving away for a year. I was just SO sure that it was so NOT going to happen. I just did not even break a sweat or waste a worry over it because I just knew it would be wasted since she wasn't really going to go. Even though we talked about watching her house and a gazillion other details...it was just conversation to pass the time because I just knew it WASN'T going to happen. My daughter went to her daughter's going away party (which was just silly since she wasn't REALLY going to go away!) And another friend and I took the dear one out to dinner as a "send off"...which again...was just silly since I had no plans to really "send" her anywhere. But reality hit home yesterday as final plans really finalized. And I really had my first inkling that she might actually leave for real when she showed up on my doorstep with...her plants. It was like someone knocked the air out me. The plants are like the FINAL final detail. Especially since this friend KNOWS I have a thumb blacker than any other found in the wide west. All things resembling foliage in my own home are silk. I simply wash the dust off of them every other month or so. But other than that...NO maintenance and they live FOREVER! My friend is not so cursed and manages to grow a great many things in pots both inside and outside the home. And so...she shows up with FIVE plants for me to kill for her while she is gone. And there is no sense pretending that anything other than that is a possible outcome! And it all just hit home that my friend actually intended to get on that airplane and LEAVE...and for a whole year at that. So it's been depressing around here...looking at all of these stupid plants that are SO out of place here in my house! I think they know they received the ultimate death sentence and are already looking paler today than when they arrived yesterday. It's a stark reality reminder that my favorite friend and walking buddy is no longer just around the corner...that I can't just call her and ask for "hypothetical" directions when I might be hypothetically lost...that I don't need to call and ask what she's wearing so that we don't show up in the same place wearing the same shirt (since I hooked her onto a particular favorite one that we both own a ridiculously high number of!). It is weird to think that it might be months and months before I see her. She has been my walking pal, my bible study pal, my mexican food pal, my dearest confidant and friend in the time I have been in Tucson...I think I may just be lost without her and her sweet smile. She left today...and I don't quite know what to do with that. I have managed to keep especially busy today so as not to think about it too much. My neighbor was kind enough to come over and swim for a short time with her little ones this afternoon and the distraction was SO needed. But now the day has come to a close and it is quiet and calm and all of my thoughts have turned to Mary and her long journey that she is even now on...and I miss her already. I would have given her a huge hug today...but she has an aversion to that sort of thing! So I have hugged her in my heart and will be holding her ever so close in my heart and prayers for the next 12 months. I am going to make a concerted effort not to kill her plants...but she knows better than to hope they will be here in a week or two...let alone a year! Happy travels, my friend. I will be missing you terribly here in the desert!
2 comments:
Dearest Friend,
I did leave my plants in your care... even with the knowledge of your black thumb. It will be a good growth experience for both of us this year... for myself, trying to find the necessities of living in a foreign country (but as you say, at least everything is in English here... but you failed to mention that I would be driving directly at traffic coming the other direction) and you in seeing if you can keep my plants alive. I knew you were up to the challenge thus the reason I left them in your care. I send you a BIG hug from here as well and when I walk in the mornings through our little town... know that I am thinking of you all and praying for you. May your days be blessed more than you could imagine this year!
Dearest Friend,
I left them my plants in your care with full knowledge of your black thumb. I knew that they would get the best of care that you could provide and that is all it takes. I figured if I was in for a year of growth searching for simple homecare things (yes, as you have told me... everything is in English but you failed to mention that they would be driving directly at me) than you may as well be in for a year of growth as well. I wouldn't want to leave you out of a single experience in life. You are an amazing friend and I give you a BIG hug from across the miles. May your year be blessed beyond your wildest imagines for your kindness (in taking care of my plants) and your steadfast friendship (just always being there). MCJ
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