Ode to the Queen Mother

Howdy, y'all in the blogosphere.

No, I do not mean the Queen Mother, as in the mother of Queen Elizabeth.

I mean the Queen Mother of Jades The plant of all plants. The ginormous Jade that I received as a confirmation gift when I was twelve. The plant the spawned hundreds of others, given away to friends and family over the years. The plant that keeps on giving.

When THE plant was brought in this October, ready to start the winter in our happy home, I must admit I had reservations. The other plants are all small enough to sit on the bay window sill, the enormous Jade is not. So it sat on the floor on a plastic mat next to the sliding door. It had plenty of sunlight there. The dog would only bump into it once in a while, it would be ok.

Then Darling and Bug Boy began leaning the baby gate up against the Jade whenever they let the dog in and out. We keep the gate there to put at the top of the slider so that Bugaboo cannot escape. They kept propping it up against the sturdy plant and I made a point to remind them that it is a plant, not a piece of furniture.

The plant fell over. Several times. But still the plant lived on.

The last straw came last evening. Darling was excited to be putting up his chili pepper lights. We purchased them on clearance after Christmas last year and he begged to put them up all year. So last evening they came out of the box and as he put them up he bumped into the plant and the top of it toppled over, dirt came flying up and the roots were right-side up. There was nasty, dirty, potted plant all over the family room rugs. We scrambled to clean it up as quickly as possible, since Shad Roe the Dog and Bugaboo were quite curious as to why there was dirt all over the family room.

Once it was cleaned and Darling and I carried the remains of the plant to the front porch I started to get teary-eyed. Why in the world do I love this plant so much? What does it represent? Is it because I received it almost as a coming-of-age gift and it has seen me through multiple moves, several boyfriends, a husband and now children? Is it because when I had Rosie the Cockatiel she used to love to sit in the plant and sing? Is it because the kids put plastic snakes and dinosaurs in it and use it for a playset? Is it because it has grown from one measly little leaf in the back of a plastic elephant planter to a four-foot-high-fifty-plus-pound permanent fixture in our home?

And so it sits, propped up by two chairs, barely clinging to life. I plan on getting a new pot and dirt today, along with whatever plant food I can find. It is going to need tons of love the next few months in order for it to make it. Jades are hearty plants, to the point that if leaves fall off I toss them in the pot and they REROOT themselves. I imagine it will survive.

As cliche as it sounds, I think this plant represents life to me. As it grows and I trim off pieces, I give the pieces to other people to start their own plant. And those plants grow and get bigger and then they pick off pieces to give to other people. This is one of the most amazing things about life. You give little pieces of yourself to others and they take those little pieces to the people in their lives. In a number of years you are leaving behind the most amazing legacy. I try to think about my grandparents (three have passed on) and what they have left behind. My Grandfather left behind a large family and a love for charity. My Pop-pop and Nana left behind a son who wanted to raise his own brood of children with the same unconditional love (and strict discipline) that he had as a child. They always had an open door, anyone could come to see them and talk to them anytime. Is that what I am leaving behind someday? What are people going to remember me for? Are they going to remember that I give to charity, go to church, love my children and family with all my heart, speak kind words to people as often as I can and give of myself when others need me? Are they going to remember the brave woman I am trying to be or a scared woman who cannot make decisions? What legacy am I going to leave?

I know it sounds bizarre, coming out of a woman my age. Who thinks of this stuff in their thirties? ME! I want to know the purpose of this life and so I try to live it to the fullest. My purpose is to touch as many people's lives as possible so that when I move on someday (sorry if it sounds sad or morbid!) each one of those people has a little piece of me. Just like the Queen Mother of Jades.