I am not sorry to see March leave. It arrived angry and is leaving me very sad. But life is settling down now; I look forward to April and getting outdoors. The moments of sadness that take my breath away are little less. I expect they will never go away.
I wanted to remember the flowers and cards that surrounded me during this time. Below is a bud vase of Lenten Roses that sat at the alter with the beautiful urn holding my mother’s ashes. Mother loved Lenten Roses and every time I look at a Lenten Rose blossom, I will remember her.
John’s wonderful mother was the first person to respond to my loss and sent me a beautiful arrangement of flowers. As several of the flowers began to fade, I pulled them out and re-arranged the others. Two weeks later, the arrangement is still causing me to smile.
The arrangement below was part of a grouping of three small spring arrangements that graced a table in the Chapel during my mother’s memorial service. The entire arrangement, called a break away arrangement, was joined by long branches of pussy willow that formed an arch over a picture of my mother. The three arrangements represented the three daughters. Each of us took an arrangement home after the service.
The Peace Lily below is a gift from my work. I found it on the front porch one day when I was returning home. Nice, don’t you think??!!
And finally, this is just a few of the many cards I have received. So many thoughtful and heartfelt words in each…
I miss my mother more than I can begin to express…
On a less significant note, my 1996 I30 Infiniti reached a milestone today. It finally turned over 500,000 miles. Infiniti launched the I30 in Fall 1995 as its entry luxury car. I brought one of the first in Knoxville and drove it proudly, to and from Cleveland, TN (150 miles/day) for 10 years, then to and from Mt. Airy, NC, once a month for 2 years and finally, to my current job, round trip 14 miles a day.
The car has been a solid, dependable vehicle, leaving me almost stranded only once in 15 years (Vacation Save by Russells Garage ). I have kept the mechanical parts meticulously maintained and until the last few years, the body too. Maintaining both has been crazy expensive. Recently I decided against doing body work and the car is beginning to look like a dirt car racer, bumped, scrapped and dented (a whole new perspective on my driving). Nevertheless, I kept driving the car in search of my 500,000 mile goal. Now that I have made it, the car is beginning to look like what it is, a very old car in need of replacement.
