Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Plant a Tree, Plant a Hope

My new header up there is a picture of the tree planted in Kelli's memory at her middle school last May. At the base is a brass marker which has one of my favorite quotes: "He who plants a tree, plants a hope."


I received so many flowers and plants after they died. Once the funeral was over, their father and I kept some and gave some away. One of my favorites was a huge palm tree sent by the cheerleaders and pom girls. However, when I moved from my old house, I left it for a couple of days until I had somewhere in my house to put it. My renters put the palm in the mudroom, where it was very cold. When I picked it up and took it home, it wasn't in very good shape. I tried coaxing it back to health, but it died.


I know it's just a plant, but I felt so guilty about killing it. I managed to keep all the other potted plants going, and I felt like a failure. Especially since this one was given to me by her fellow cheerleaders.


I cried when I took it out of the pot to throw it out. I told Craig that I was going to have to buy another one, and he said "of course." He didn't roll his eyes at the hysterics, he just took me to Lowe's and we got another one. While we were there, I got new pots so I could repot the other ones.


I am looking forward to this Spring when I can plant flowers around my new house, but also so I can plant a tree in our yard, in memory of the girls.


2 comments:

Jeannette E. Spaghetti said...

If I kill a plant, I usually need someone else to throw it out or composte it or burn it (ahem, dad) or whatever. I don't know what it is about killing a plant, but it makes me upset. And I can't dispose of it myself.

Jennie said...

I love the new header.