Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Nature


This post is about endurance.....the endurance of nature,
the endurance of friendship
and the endurance that life brings out in us.
This flower (which I think is a poppy?) bloomed for the first time this year from a seed planted 9 or 10 years ago. It bloomed between flagstones on my patio, not in the flowerbed where I planted it.
You're probably wondering where friendship comes into this? Well, it refers to my dear friend Cie, who I've been friends with since our teens. We went to college together, then we worked together, we sometimes shared flats, went on holiday together, all of that.
Then Cie moved to Hong Kong, but our friendship endured. In the pre-email days, we wrote long letters, had an odd phone call (expensive!) and Cie came to Ireland once a year. Our letters charted the births of our children, early motherhoods days, buying new homes, the lot.
Back to the flower! On Cie's annual visits, each June, we would take off for a day trip to craft places around Kilkenny, leaving Dublin early am, and returning late that night. Calls to pottery workshops and glass blowers were interspersed with many cups of coffee. And along the road, the poppies were always blooming, so we'd stop and pick a few to plant in the garden. They never grew, probably because it would be a few days later when I'd get around to planting them, and at that stage they would be dried out!
Cie moved back to Ireland, with their two children, then gave birth to two little girls, and all the while we kept up our annual visit to the Craft Trail of Kilkenny, always gathering more poppies that never grew.
Then, 9 years ago, the family moved to Brussels..
This time, it's much easier to keep in touch, which is probably just as well, cos neither of us have the time now to sit down and write long letters. But we have email, phone (much cheaper than Hong Kong!) and text.
The endurance that life brings out in us? Cie's 14 Y/O daughter recently had surgery that left her paralysed. I wrote about it here.
Ais started Rehab 4 weeks ago, and this week she WALKED 5 STEPS.
On her own.
That's endurance! And that's what I think of each time I see this flower!
This post is my entry for The Gallery over at Sticky Fingers. The prize is a hamper of Green and Blacks organic chocolate, so I had to enter!

15 comments:

  1. A remarkable and rewarding friendship, Mimi.
    It's good news about your friend's daugter having walked a few steps, she must be feeling elated at the achievement.

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  2. What a lovely post :)

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  3. That is amazing, what an amazing girl to achieve that in 4 weeks. I hope she continues to flourish, just like your poppy:) Jen

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  4. Lovely story to go with your photograph! Thanks for sharing and good luck to your friend's daughter.

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  5. That's really positive news about her daughter, how amazing what children can do. Enjoyed reading this, isn't it great how we all read one word so differently, I've enjoyed my first week looking at them all.

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  6. First I thought it was a beautiful photograph, and then I read the story and it made it into so much more. What a fabulous post x

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  7. A lovely post, and a touching story. MY prayers are with the little girl and a recovery.

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  8. Amazing what life brings to those we have loved. May her steps increase!

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  9. Well, I think you are going to win. That was an incredible story of unexpected marvels. What a story. I can't believe how hard that would be, and how thrilled they must be with her first steps.
    And that is such a beautiful picture. You should print it and frame it so that you will always have a reminder that we can all endure anything that we come up against.
    Thanks for your inspiring words today!

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  10. Your post brought tears to my eyes ..... what a wonderful friendship!
    And those 5 steps mean sooooo much! Wishing her many more!

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  11. What a lovely timing of the poppy's renaissance. I'm glad that things are improving for your friend's daughter.
    My turn to catch up with everyone.

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  12. So glad your poppy finally decided to flower - in it's own time and space. Better that way. Hope things turn out well for your good friend's daughter. An inspiring story! And, last of all, hope you win the chocolate - and if you do promise to share some with me!

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  13. Beautiful post. Keeping friends through life is truly one of its blessings. Everyone needs at least one good friend.;)) How lucky you are to have had life bestowed such one upon you.:)
    xoxo

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  14. Thank you, everybody, for your lovely comments.
    I appreciate all of them.

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