Pretty flowers are necessary today on this day when snow is falling just 20 miles away and threatening to drop a few flakes here.
The photo does not do justice to the bouquet of daffodils I assembled for my mother yesterday.
It was much prettier in real life.
Thank goodness for cedar branches cuz there's not a lot of other greenery available here on the place for flower arrangements.
No yellow violets, as I had earlier planned---instead fragrant daffodils, along with a couple of pens with Easter eggs on them.
I bought a pen/Easter egg bouquet from a young man with special needs a few weeks ago.
He creates various themes with silver buckets, pens and seeds (for support---this time the bucket was filled with whole wheat seeds).
I have another of his creations from a few years back with pens topped off by cloth poinsettias.
His arrangements are attractive and long lasting.
Anyway, to spice up my mother's bouquet I borrowed a couple of the Easter egg pens.
When I arrived home, the Nieman's van pulled into the driveway. They had called earlier, checking to see when I'd be home.
Peggy stepped out with the other bouquet, pictured above.
We visited for a while, then I said, "I wonder who this is from."
"He said you would know," Peggy responded.
She was correct.
No name on the card, but I knew who had sent the flowers from the short note, apologizing for skipping a few years.
Now, when does anyone who has sent May Day flowers off and on for more than 30 years need to apologize???
I simply smiled and felt a goosebump or two. I had already thought of Jeff aka Mercury yesterday while writing about yellow violets.
I've written a piece in my third book about Jeff too: Emmel's May Day Memories.
It's a wonderful story that illustrates how the thoughtful, sometimes simple gestures of people in our lives endear them to us forever.
Yesterday's bouquet once again brought forth a flood of good memories of a time so many years ago when a small group of students worked their way into my heart and felt more like an extended family to me.
They remain that way today, each and every one of them.
My kids, in fact, probably view these folks as extended siblings because we spent so much time together.
We hiked the mountains of North Idaho, we traveled to San Francisco and Seattle together for journalism conventions.
Some played tricks on others----sometimes appreciated, sometimes not.
We even gathered one time at Jeralyn's house for a Halloween party, but not before a pregnant nun and a priest among the group had showed up at Bonner General Hospital.
I'm sure I received at least 30 black marks on my soul for that one.
These students, Jeff included, have gone off into the world, around the world in many cases, following their dreams and pursuing fascinating careers.
There's an actor, a woodworker, a film/production manager/organizer, a counselor, an engineer, an architect, a gifted photographer . . . .
I am proud to know them all, and definitely smile really big on any May Day when flowers arrive, reminding me of Jeff and his slightly impish demeanor, wonderful smile and twinkling eyes.
He started this all, in 1981, leaving a single yellow violet in a baggie filled with water on my classroom desk.
That said, he certainly does not need to apologize for skipping a year or two.
Such thoughtfulness. So appreciated.
Now, I have to track him down after several years and find out what the heck he's doing with his life these days. Believe me, it's always interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment