Dear Reader:

I wanted to share some updated news with you about “Big Red”…my red geranium of hope and perseverance. It never bloomed this summer. Leaves would appear and even sometimes a tiny bud….but the bud never made it to maturity…it never bloomed. Instead it turned brown and simply fell off.

Then, yesterday, as I swept the porch…something caught my attention ….on the tip end of one geranium stem….a cluster of buds are  forming. You just don’t know how that one glimpse of hope propelled me into a busy day of cleaning, throwing out items that had been left too long  here and there… in and out of the house. It was like I was starting over…with a fresh new beginning, my  windows were wide open letting in the beautiful day. I  was  ecstatic  …even down to kissing “Big Red.”

For those of you who don’t know about “Big Red”....let me quickly explain some of its history. I was given this geranium (as a gift) in June of 2008…a few days after my initial mastectomy.

For seven long years now it has managed to survive anything Mother Nature has thrown at it….from freezing to ouch hot temperatures on the front porch. It sits proudly on the same white bench (that got a fresh coat of paint during the renovation last summer) that it was first placed on seven years ago.

I can count the number of times (on my fingers) that I have physically picked it up and  moved it inside during an rigid cold night…Soon even this taxing endeavor was not an option because “Big Red” grew very large…it, simply, wouldn’t fit through the door. I had to just throw a sheet over it and hope for the best.

During one of those rigid cold snaps (with temps in the teens)…”Big Red” almost died last winter. I had to perform “emergency amputation” to most of its limbs…until there was just one central limb/stem left. I had little hope that “Big Red” would recover. It did and leaves reappeared but nothing would and/or could bloom on it last summer and this fall.

I have come to rely on “Big Red” as a health o’meter for my own progress while living with “little c”… so the plant’s struggle these past few months has saddened me in several ways.

But now hope looks like it might bloom again before winter sets in. I pray this to be true. If and when the buds open up into bright red blossoms…I will take a picture and y’all will be the first to know!

The idea of looking to a flower for direction during difficult times was the central theme in the story: Red Flower Goes West. It is about a red geranium that James’ mother takes with her when her husband decides to join the forty-niner’s looking for precious treasures in the Gold Rush.

The flower was originally given to her by her mother so it symbolized heritage and home back east. The mother, son, and daughter all sacrifice water and other necessities to keep the plant alive…because they, too, come to  believe that their own existence and success( in making it out west) depends upon it.

When they finally arrive and plant it…they know they are home.

“Big Red” has come to symbolize home for me…it would feel so strange not to see it on the porch welcoming me  upon each arrival. Like the picture on the cover of the book…I will be happy if I can get one red bloom this season. Hope will still be alive, as well as, “Big Red.”

So until tomorrow…Thank you Father for opportunities to connect with all forms of life in this beautiful world You have created. We are all here to help each other.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

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*A few days ago I showed you one poinsettia whose leaves were starting to turn a deep red….now the other (white poinsettia) plant’s leaves are turning a light pink. I am beyond excited…This is the first time that I have kept poinsettias alive all year for the next Christmas! (Just threw them in the “paw paw” patch and left them alone…who knew?)

Now here is the coolest God Wink …After all my cleaning yesterday…around 1:30 it dawned on me that I hadn’t eaten anything but a piece of toast all day and I was hungry….for something really good.

The one big “perk” about eating a lot of meals by myself is the fact that I can eat half of my order for lunch and the other half for supper. (Actually much more economical than cooking!)

I decided to call Continental Corner and order one of their omelets that come with Greek potatoes and fruit….yummy! I also got a tea to go…I was going to be set for lunch and supper.

Two girls were finishing up the “books” when I stopped in to pay the tab..when they found out my name and the specific order they both started grinning….(I thought everybody was just being especially friendly)

One girl asked if I would like to know the total cost of the lunch order and I replied “Yes” (distractedly) while fumbling through my pocketbook looking for that twenty-dollar bill in there.

In unison both girls exclaimed “$11. 11”!!!!  It took me a second to grasp the significance of the number and then I said “Are y’all playing with me…truly this was the total?” I was handed the receipt and there it was. Veterans day , 11/11 and a God Wink.