poinsettias & strawberries

Gary shares the spotlight
on the topic of lovely flowers
for many many years
the Christmas season at whatever address
officially starts for me when
Gary walks through the door with massive
red poinsettias in hand

he usually gets two, sometimes three
and I am thrilled every time
as if it was the first
I know that Brandon and Bryan
have learned by seeing
especially
how happy it made me
to receive those flowers
as symbols
and I always want them to know the delight
is the loving heart
not the thing given

we have joked over the years that I am
easy to please
not requiring the Lexus with a Bow
or the everykissbeginswithK diamonds
to make a point or be a proof
of lasting heart
hey, sometimes it is good to go all out
no kidding
and I have loved my power tools
and other special requests!

Mother's Day is my other special day
birthday, too, but there is something much deeper for me
as we celebrate becoming parents
the boys' birthday, May 16th, four years apart,
means that Mother's Day hovers around that time
so it is jampacked with remembering and the wonder
of them growing UP

back to Gary's special treatment:
favorites include
the bags of groceries
the kinds of food I love but do not "do" very often
and when there were painfully lean years financially
I remember crying
to see two boxes of huge strawberries...

then the bouquet of flowers
that I rearranged in ever smaller vases
trying to make them last forever
and this year I swear one of the poinsettias
made it to join Mother's Day colors

it's all about the stories
that weave the fabric of life
as simple
as meaning-filled
as delicious
as
cold water in a desert
as
hot chocolate during a snowstorm...

raising a glass and a mug to toast
to the memories
to come