What a Cactus Taught Me...
Roughly 25 years ago my youngest son brought me a small cactus garden, including a dragon tail cactus when he vacationed with my mom.
Over the past 25 years, this cactus grew. Not without it's own struggles. You see, I don't have the green thumb needed to keep indoor plants alive; regardless of how "maintenance free" they may be. I lost 2 of them fairly quickly, but babied this one to keep it alive. It seemed to thrive for almost 20 years.
Then our daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer and I mostly forgot about it. I only remembered to water it when I went into the extra bedroom and saw it on the dresser. I "found" it again after she died and I was moving some of her things. It looked half dead, with drooping spines. I watered it and sat it next to a window hoping it would perk up. I walked out of the room and promptly forgot about it...again.
Fast forward 2 years. This spring, while still recovering from his own health scare, my husband was clearing out things he'd stored in the extra bedroom over the winter. He found the cactus...and it was still alive, but barely. After teasing me relentlessly about not being able to keep the easiest plant known to man alive, he took it to the garage and replanted it so it would have a chance to grow. Over the summer it grew...you can see it still looks beat up in spots and the new growth seems a bit thin.
.
As I looked at it today, I realized that it had been subjected to neglect, lack of attention, and lack of space to spread and strengthen its roots. Yet it hung on...and survived. Much like we did during the most challenging time of our lives. The times we felt and still feel completely beat down, the many times we felt and still feel neglected and alone, and now, the constant feeling that the pain we live with is smothering the life out of us.
Like this cactus, we have survived.
Over the past 25 years, this cactus grew. Not without it's own struggles. You see, I don't have the green thumb needed to keep indoor plants alive; regardless of how "maintenance free" they may be. I lost 2 of them fairly quickly, but babied this one to keep it alive. It seemed to thrive for almost 20 years.
Then our daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer and I mostly forgot about it. I only remembered to water it when I went into the extra bedroom and saw it on the dresser. I "found" it again after she died and I was moving some of her things. It looked half dead, with drooping spines. I watered it and sat it next to a window hoping it would perk up. I walked out of the room and promptly forgot about it...again.
Fast forward 2 years. This spring, while still recovering from his own health scare, my husband was clearing out things he'd stored in the extra bedroom over the winter. He found the cactus...and it was still alive, but barely. After teasing me relentlessly about not being able to keep the easiest plant known to man alive, he took it to the garage and replanted it so it would have a chance to grow. Over the summer it grew...you can see it still looks beat up in spots and the new growth seems a bit thin.
As I looked at it today, I realized that it had been subjected to neglect, lack of attention, and lack of space to spread and strengthen its roots. Yet it hung on...and survived. Much like we did during the most challenging time of our lives. The times we felt and still feel completely beat down, the many times we felt and still feel neglected and alone, and now, the constant feeling that the pain we live with is smothering the life out of us.
Like this cactus, we have survived.
Comments
Post a Comment