Quote of the Day: “Grow old with me. The best is yet to be.” Robert Browning
I randomly opened the quote book and my eyes dropped to this one entry. What a joyous quote!
A year ago yesterday I received my 7th chemo treatment. I went home full of medicine knowing that the steriods would keep up my energy levels for a few days before they dropped. It was a strange feeling, knowing that you wanted to get the treatment done, that moving forward was the only way out of this tunnel nightmare, but realizing that you would be brought down by it. I really retreated in so many ways when I got the cancer diagnosis. I guess that was my way. I didn’t want a lot of people watching me suffer. I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew I would lose my hair, I thought that I would probably develop a puffy, white face due to the medicine. I knew I would be tired. The biggest surprise for me was the emotional impact it carried, coupled with the knowledge that my sister was losing her battle with this horrible disease. We really don’t know how we will react to adversity- I think we have a pretty good idea- but most of us would be surprised to find that we are stronger than we think and that we have in us a reservoir of strength from which we can draw. I remember a friend going through a difficult situation who sought spiritual guidance in large doses, she went to the place where she felt the closest to God, almost every day. I have known others who in anger, retreat from God, incredulous that a God could allow this devastation to happen. I do think our behavior is reflected in how we see the world. I retreated but in that retreat I found comfort in blogging, trying to understand my own feelings and then, what I didn’t expect, was how so many people came to my rescue. It wasn’t the loneliest time ever, quite the opposite. I found out how lovely people were.
I thought about this yesterday as I awoke to a beautiful blue sky, went running with friends and then planted hydrangeas in the front of my house. Now, I love hydrangeas, in fact, I think that I am annoying in how much I love them. There is a house in Holladay with the most lovely hydrangea bushes and just this week, Sue O., Cokie and I were running and I saw huge purple hydrangeas on a healthy green bush. Where were we? This is how bushes looked in the Northwest by the ocean, not the desert. Sue pointed out that they did so well because they were right next to the house and in the shade. And then the epiphany, I have just the right place smack dab in front of my house. And so I planted them there and then replanted them a bit further back and every time I drive into my garage or walk in my front door, there they are to greet me. Do you remember in It’s a Wonderful Life where Mary hides in the hydrangea bush because her robe accidentally gets pulled of? George turns around and looks for Mary and she says something like, “Here I am George, in the hydrangea bush”. Right then, with Mary in the bush, George’s life changes, forever.
From a site called hydrangeashydrangeas.com, I found the following information:
Hydrangeas are fascinating in that, unlike most other plants, the color of their flowers can change dramatically. …hydrangeas often change color on their own when they are planted or transplanted. They are adjusting to the new environment. It is not unusual to see several different colors on one shrub the next year after planting.
It is much easier to change a hydrangea from pink to blue than it is from blue to pink. Changing a hydrangea from pink to blue entails adding aluminum to the soil. Changing from blue to pink means subtracting aluminum from the soil…
So hydrangea bushes originated in Asia but since they have been made “heartier” for winter climates, they can survive Utah’s winters. Another site said this: The pink hydrangea has risen in popularity all over the world, but especially in Asia. Pink hydrangeas have many different meanings, but generally means, “You are the beat of my heart”, as described by the celebrated Asian florist Tan Jun Yong, where he was quoted saying, “The light delicate blush of the petals reminds me of a beating heart, while the size could only match the heart of the sender!”
Maybe what I love about hydrangeas is that they adapt to their environment in a lovely way!
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