Memorial Magnolias

I attended the memorial service for my friend Lou on Saturday afternoon. There at the registration table stood a vase of magnolia blossoms. A perfect memorial for this dear, sweet North Carolina native.

Eventually, i realized the magnolias were not real, but were silk flowers.

Meanwhile, a slide show of Lou's life played on the screen. I had to leave that room and find a tissue because tears were prickling my eyes.

The silk magnolias gave me the illusion of reality and engendered present moment feelings of pleasant. Then i realized they were false, so the pleasantness was attenuated.

The slide show gave the illusion of reality and gave rise to feelings of pleasant (dear Lou!) and unpleasant (She's gone.) Until i realized that part of my grief was wishing i had known her better, and through the slide show i was indeed getting to know her better. Pleasant.

Photo from polkadotbride.com

A Flower Friend Dies

My flower friend, Lou, died Wednesday night. Since i mostly see her in the summer at Perennial Swappers, i was surprised to learn 2 weeks ago that she had cancer. She had been on the downhill slide since October.

Lou often thanked me for the flowers in her flowerbeds--several of them came from my garden. Now, like those flowers, she has withered and died.

Dear sweet Lou.