August 26, 2015
(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every
day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)
A few years ago, when my father was strong enough
to go to a nursery with me, we picked out a crape myrtle tree for me to plant
at my house. My father gave a gift of his favorite tree to each of his three
daughters so we might remember him after he died.
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." ~ Greek Proverb
I did not inherit his green thumb but my sister did
and as he gradually grew weaker near the end of his life, she made sure that he
always had flowers in his apartment. However, I did inherit his love for flowers
and was looking forward to hot pink blooms from this tree. I planted the young crape
myrtle right by my front door and office window. The next summer, mine did not
bloom and I worried that it would never have flowers. The next year arrived and
there were still no blooms. But my father was still with us and I didn’t need
the tree to spark memories.
One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade. Keep a green tree in your heart, and perhaps a singing bird will come." ~ Chinese proverb
This year, the tree is now tall enough to reach my
office window on the second floor where I can see the vibrant pink flowers. I’m
hoping that maybe one year a bird will build a nest in it. My father passed
away the first week of last December but I can now look out my window and
remember how much he loved flowers and his family. This gift keeps giving every
year.
He who plants a tree loves others besides himself." ~ English proverb
My
gift today is a blooming crape myrtle tree.
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