Climbing HydrangeaThe story of this climbing hydrangea offers a nice metaphor for those of us working through grief and loss. You see, the juniper tree that supports this plant was burned in a fire several years ago… the whole side of the tree was charred and scarred when we moved in five years ago. This hydrangea was planted at the base of the tree and was a foot tall then. It has since grown up the side of the tree that was bare, completely taking it over. Come to think of it, the growth of this plant seems to mirror the rate at which I and others have experienced a grief process before… very slow to grow at the beginning, with little more growth the early years, then all of a sudden, several years have passed and new life has taken over so that we notice only on occasion that there is still a bare tree beneath the surface.
This is a comfort at a time when I feel a strong sense of missing my father’s presence. There is an empty home in Syracuse, he’s not driving his car, he’s not visiting our home… he’s literally not here. It is helpful to know that new life will fill the time and places that once held our relationship, the joys and burdens, and the new life will overcome the empty feelings and empty spaces, leaving me with the bittersweet bare root of relationship memories and maybe a new source of spirit-strength and -love.
Thank you Margie and Rick for planting this climbing hydrangea!
Moving forward with a listening heart,
vision, inquiry, and action,
~ Mary
