My flower bed.

I have a flower bed.  It is at the front of my house.  It is filled with memories.  Some of the plants have been with me for a long time.  They are special to me.  A few of them were even written into the last real estate contract when we moved because they mean that much to me.

I am the type of a person that would rather have an azalea than a vase of cut flowers because I can enjoy it for years to come.  I love the idea of planting a tree for special occasions because as the tree grows you will look on it and remember that event.  It is one of my things it is how I am.

Today we hired landscapers to come clean up and mulch the beds around the house.  It needed to be done.  It looked bad and was required.  However, my bed was not to be touched.  I even went out this morning when the landscapers arrived in my pajamas and walked the foreman over to my bed.  I said this bed has been hand weeded by me, the only thing you are doing to it is mulching it do you understand?  I said do you see this plant?  It is not a weed.  It is a yellow lilac.  Do you know how hard it is to get a yellow lilac to grow?  All you are doing in this bed is mulching it right?  Right was his reply.  I showed him another one of my baby lilacs I said do you see this one?  It came up at my mother's house.  Please do not touch it!  He said he understood.

I went back inside and cleaned and did laundry and at lunchtime I thought I would walk out to see the progression.  There it was.  My bed.  Hacked.  Horribly Horribly hacked.  My yellow lilac?  Someone had stepped on it.  Stepped on it.

I lost it.  Cried my eyes out to my husband and to the foreman.  I just couldn't understand how if I had been so specific how my wishes were not carried out.  One guy came over and said it will grow back.  I have genuinely never wanted to punch someone more.

The man kept saying tell me what I can do I am so sorry, please I will replace whatever you want.  Well, he can't.  These are not plants you buy at a store.

They will grow back.  It will probably be even more beautiful next year.  Time will tell.

Life lesson to learn from this.  Open your ears and hearts to those around you.  When they are giving you instructions are you really listening our are you just waiting for them to stop talking and then doing it your way?  Are they telling you about something that has hurt them and you are trying to figure out what you are going to make for dinner or how you are going to pick up the kids on time.  Is it a person that you just run into at a store?  You might see anger where there is hurt, you might see joy where there is pain, you might see plants where there are memories.  Pay attention and live intentionally.