Saying Goodbye

I got a deal on a one gallon plant at Lowe's.  It is Chrysanthemums (more typically known as "mums).  It is a perennial plant, so if you get it in and take care of it, you should see it next year.  When I got it it had 4-5 flowers on it already and it looked great.  It put it on the front step and had every intention to plant it.  They are harder to kill than most other plants.

If you go out on the step now, there is a black one gallon container with four brown sticks coming out of a hard one gallon dirt clod.  For the last 3-4 weeks when you walked up to the house it was a prominent, beautiful looking plant. Put a smile on your face. no matter what you were thinking about.  It lasted this long because of the rain we have had.

Saying goodbye to a friend, loved one, mom/dad, brother/sister or worse a son or daughter (parental guilt will be a common thread in these updates)  is a tough thing to do.  No amount of logic can keep you from wanting to keep all those beloved people and things around you as long as you can.  The truth is people need to do things and go places where they will flourish and grow.  When I see you both off I have to keep reminding myself that despite how much I love you I do not have the resources at hand to give you the things that you need to flourish and grow.  Today, the best place you can get those things, is at your respective universities.  That makes our brief goodbye tolerable for me.

I loved having that pot of mums on the step, I really did, but they just can't grow there.  Now they just remind me of what a bonehead move it was to do what felt good and comfortable, instead of just planting the frigging thing.

So don't leave your mums in the pot and hope it will rain.

And while I am thinking of it that "if you love something set it free" saying is complete bullshit.  If you love something you should love it for what it is without you.   If you have to set something free that you love you are probably breaking a local or federal law or at the very least being creepy.  Have a deep abiding love for yourself and love the people around you for what they are.