Celebrating

One week from today I will be officially done with school for the year.

Ah. I can't wait.

But yesterday? It was a fabulous day. I worked at Hope Chest with Sara, the new director, and we just had the best time working together and chatting it up, getting to know each other. She is such a genuine person--kind and authentic and open. She's the kind of girl who I would pick for one of my good friends, and so the fact that we are now working together is simply icing on top.

When I got home, Roy informed me that Rick Anderson was taking all of the international students out for dinner and requested that we come along as I am the ESL teacher. And so, we joined them at Aow's--a restaurant that, if I never ate there again that would be just fine. It was such a fun time, though--everybody relaxed and laughing and talking a mile a minute.

And then I came home and helped Mom and Darian and Savana cook up a whole lot of food for a celebration party Savana threw: Hooray! We are free at last! And so our home was filled with laughter and great people and scrumptious food as Savana has turned into a divine cook.

And then? I crashed.

So this morning as I sit here with my iPad and look around, I see a few remnants of the party last night. Somehow as I picked up last night I overlooked the glass sitting on the table, still filled with water. A plastic cup lay on the floor, cracked as evidently someone stepped on it. And then there's the beautifully potted plant that Zach and Riley McDonald brought over for Savana. It's a cute little thing. Sure hope I don't kill it.

Plants, in my opinion, are such great gifts. They are perfect for those people whom you just don't know what to get. Currently in my living room I now I have several plants due to the kindness and generosity of others and every time I look at them, they make me smile as they are such a sweet reminder.

On my end table I have a basket filled with this adorable arrangement of plants that Tammy gave me when Madeline passed away. (That still seems unbelievable. It seems I should be able to dial her number and hear her voice--I just can't fathom that she is actually gone.) It's an adorable arrangement of several plants, a nest with eggs , and a cute little bunny. One of the plants is an orchid and it is, unbelievably, still blooming.

I've never been too good with plants, to be honest. In fact, when Roy and I first got married I had several houseplants I'd purchased sitting on the windowsill. Roy walked by and said, What's this? Death row?

Then when Ciara died, we had so many gorgeous flower arrangements in our living room that it looked like a floral shop. And then? They began to die one by one and I found that so tragic--I could hardly stand it at the time, reliving Ciara's death with each one. Finally, each arrangement was gone and we were down to just one lonely little potted plant. And of course...knowing my history and talent with plants, I pleaded with God to please let this one survive! I can't bear throwing another one away!

And it did. That little plant grew and grew and survived well over ten years. That plant was my little miracle.

On my windowsill is another orchid that Sara, my co-worker, gave me when she joined our Hope Chest team. It's a mini and it just looks so cute sitting there, a little touch of spring.

When Savana graduated, we went out for lunch with our whole family and Fred and Mary, Roy's brother and wife. Fred has been so generous with Savana, purchasing her books for her every semester--and that has been a hefty cost. And so, since I wanted to do something for them to let them know how very much I appreciate them, I purchased an orchid for their living room.

Plants are those gifts that just keep giving. Now that we are done (fingers crossed) with cold weather, I'm beginning to dream about my little flower garden out front. I have some annuals that are bursting from the ground but I leave room for a couple of perennials as well. Visiting Home Depot and bringing home a trunk filled with blooming colors?

Ah. That's just a whole lot of wonderful. It's like a little party goin' on in my yard every summer. A celebration of its own.