The Buddy Lily

I write from time to time about our son Ryan, who died long before his time as far as SWMBO and I are concerned. We always called him Buddy. Our church had a long-standing custom where congregants could purchase an Easter lily, fill out an “In Memory of ..” form, and have it displayed on the altar for Easter services. The lily was then yours to take home after the late service.

So, after Buddy’s death, we’d buy a lily, dutifully bring it home after the service, and put it beside George the ficus tree ¹ whereupon the lily would die in the first week we had it. And not just a turning brown; no, these poor plants would turn black, shrivel to nothing, leaving only a pot full of dirt. As years went by, we repeated this ritual, until I suggested to SWMBO that we couldn’t keep torturing these lilies forever, and proposed that she dig a hole beside the fence out back, plant the lily, and at least give it a fighting chance to survive.

To the results are pictured above, and in spite of the fact that Easter is long gone, this is the time of year these things bloom in Northern Virginia.

Easter or not, when this plant blooms, we think of Buddy.

-k-

This picture posted with the click to embiggen feature, if you’re here at the tbbs site.