I remember when the Diane plant came home with me to live on the kitchen windowsill. Plants are not really my thing. I like them, don’t get me wrong, but they don’t stand much of a chance with me. I have been unable to keep any indoor plants alive. Ever. Except this one. Yes, Diane is a hearty one. She has survived and thrived. She has grown and reproduced. She is getting old and bent, less attractive than her offspring. I can’t bring myself to discard her. Too many memories. She is the tangible evidence of a wonderful life lived. The life of Diane.
I met Diane during my time as a hospice nurse. Diane was one of the best volunteers I have ever known. She was a former hospice patient who recovered enough to “graduate” from hospice. She became a volunteer-a helper, a companion and a friend to many who were nearing the end of their earthly life.
Several years passed, and I had not seen Diane for awhile. She came to our office one day and asked for us to care for her as a patient. We were a bit perplexed- patients did not usually come to the office. Actually, I had never had a patient sign on to hospice this way. I think she just knew she wasn’t going to recover this time. She had come to know our team, and we were more than willing to help this wonderful lady who had given so much to so many.
It was not long before Diane’s condition worsened. She lived alone and wanted to die there, in her own home, on her own terms. She was fiercely independent. It was clear that she would soon be unable to think clearly enough to make important decisions. With the help of those who she considered family, she was driven to a lawyer’s office to make her decisions legal. She was so weak and frail, but she pushed through that day. She had very few earthly possessions. Despite this, she had always been generous to those patients she faithfully visited. Now it was her time to receive the same kindness she had given. She was worried about her dog and her birds most of all. We promised they would be taken care of.
A few days later, she fell asleep in her home. Friends took shifts keeping vigil at her bedside. She was never alone. Her pets were delivered safely to places where they would be loved. Her home was tidied up and secured.
The Diane plant came home to live with me. Maybe not the best choice, but here we are. Five years later and counting.
Today I honor Diane once more. The mother plant has given life to more baby plants than I can count. Every few months multiple tiny plants emerge, and they are planted into various containers- ones that I have been collecting ahead of time for little Diane plants. They are given to adoptive plant parents. I tell them about Diane. I remember her.
I have been thinking a lot lately about my own legacy. I am about 10 years from the age thought of as retirement. There are days when I am tired. There are times when I just don’t want to care or worry. Why not slow down and enjoy life? Then I think of all the opportunities, the wonder of what can be grown and planted. This mother plant still has lots of potential. How many containers can be filled? How many sweet little sprouts can make their way through the soil? When I start to pout, worry, and lament about losses and failures and disappointments…..
I can think of Diane.
Bloom where you are planted,
Elaine