It was Mother’s Day, and the beautiful flower in Terri’s window brought back a wonderful memory.
Terri had always loved plants. Growing up, her bedroom had been full of them. She even talked to them and told them all her secrets. She had been raising them since she was in junior high, and she struggled to find window space for all of them. So, for her birthday, her parents had given her a grow-light.
When Terri was graduating from high school, the great class of 1980, she planned to head off to college. She was concerned about her plants while she was away. It was far enough that she wouldn’t be able to come home too much. Who would water her plants?
“Mom,” Terri asked, “would you water my plants while I’m away at college?”
“I suppose I can,” her mom replied. “How often do they need to be watered?”
“Depends on the plants,” Terri said. “Some need it once a week, others can go longer.”
“Well,” her mother said, “You will need to write me a letter each week to remind me.”
“Can’t you just remember?” Terri asked.
“With them being in your room, they will be out of sight, out of mind,” her mother replied.
Terri had never been good at writing letters or anything like that. She was always the last one at Christmas to respond with thank-you cards for the presents she received from grandparents, aunts, and uncles. She was not excited about having to write home every week.
“Can I just call and remind you?” she asked.
Her mom shrugged. “Sure, but a long-distance phone bill is far more expensive than a stamp.”
Terri grumbled about her plants being held hostage for a letter, and her mother just smiled. “I suppose you can take them all with you. However, I’m not sure where you would have room to sleep in your dorm if you do.”
Terri went off to college, and even though the letters weren’t long, she did manage to write every week. At least, she did until finals and Christmas were approaching. Life was busy. When she arrived home for Christmas, she went to put her things in her room and found her plants, though alive, looking droopy.
“Uh, Mom,” Terri asked, “have you been watering my plants?”
“Sure,” her mom said. “Every time I get your letter, I take it into your bedroom, water your plants, and read the letter to them. I figured you would like me to do that.”
“When was the last time you watered them?” Terri asked.
“When was your last letter?” her mother asked in reply.
Terri didn’t answer, but got some water and watered them. By the end of Christmas break, the plants were all looking better.
When Terri returned to college, she remembered what her mother had said. She not only sent a letter each week, but she also added more details about her life for her mom to read to the plants. Her mother would respond with letters of her own and started including some pictures of Terri’s plants. When Terri came home in the spring, she found her plants were beautiful, and the flowers were all in bloom.
Terri considered they weren’t the only things that had grown. Her friendship with her mother had blossomed, too. In fact, she would rather talk to her mother than her plants.
Terri and her mother wrote throughout her time in college. When Terri graduated, her mother gave her the most beautiful flower Terri had ever seen.
Terri’s mother is gone now. And Terri, looking at that beautiful flower again, the one her mother had given her, thought about the friendship they had gained because of plants, and she was glad her mother insisted she write home to remind her to water them.
