Remembering Friends

The pink and white cyclamen that adorn the window seat in my family room are significant for a couple of reasons: They have survived for more than a year in my house and they remind me of dear friends.

The white one came as a hostess gift from someone who was in my Wednesday meditation group. She and her husband left town to travel and live on the west coast for a time after they both retired. I was shocked to hear that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer several months into their trip. I don’t hear from her on a regular basis, but try to keep up with her life through friends that do. I find it so unfair that one of the happiest, most care-free times of their life together could be marred by this awful disease.

The pink one was also a hostess gift from my elderly friend Florence, not long before she was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor. Until the day she died, this petite woman was one of the feistiest, most entertaining people I ever met. She was the inspiration for our “poetry by the light of the moon” night. I miss her smiling face in our Temple Micah congregation.

I think of these two strong women every time I look at my beautiful flowering plants. Keeping those plants alive helps me keep their memories alive.

However, I will start to worry about the next person who presents me with a cyclamen. Call it superstition, but I care a lot about my friends!