“The key is this: Meet today’s problems with today’s strength. Don’t start tackling tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow’s strength yet. You simply have enough for today.” ~ Max Lucado
old friends and new
Judy had given me a gift card to Wilson’s Nursery when Shero passed. I told her that we’d go get something meaningful later in the year when it warmed up. We caught a rare break in the rain yesterday, and off to lunch and Wilson’s we went. It may not have been raining, but it was humid and hot, and we felt like we were swimming through the air. Nevertheless, a-shopping we did go. Along the way, we met and made a new friend, Tuchey, or maybe she spelled it Tochie – Judy will remember. Pronounced “Tucci,” as in Stanley Tucci, I assumed she was Italian. She was not. She assumed Judy was my mother. She was not, and Judy was a little taken aback by the idea until she realized that I am technically young enough to be her daughter. We had a good laugh about it. Tuchey was a very friendly birthday girl of Mexican-American descent who had a fetish for roses and, as per tradition, bought a new rose bush on her birthday. By the time we ran into her a second time, she had picked out a beautiful, deep-red velvet variety. It was a variety I had considered, but ultimately, I went with the Grandiflora Rose pictured above. Shero loved roses, which I did not know until they moved beside me. She was convinced she didn’t have a green thumb because Janet was a very gifted gardener. I guess, to her, they couldn’t both be good at it. I bought her a yellow rose bush the first year she was here, and behold – she did an amazing job. It was also when I learned that yellow was her favorite color. I decided there was no better way to pay tribute to Shero than a gorgeous rose variety with a whisp of yellow. If it ever stops raining, I’ll be expanding the Robin Dalton Memorial Garden to include Shirley, the Grandiflora Rose. Surrounding it will be what I’m calling Judy’s Indian Blanket flowers, of which I bought three because ace gardener, Judy, claims such flowers do better in threes. The garden is shaping up to be as gorgeous as the people it memorializes, even though Robin isn’t dead. Three of her four brothers are, and I grew up with them, so I’m sticking with the memorial name. Anywho, Judy and I had a great time together, making new friends and picking out gorgeous flowers. When it’s time to build on to the garden, I know who I’ll be calling to go shopping with me.
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