Story of the Day
"Geraniums
of Love"
As the fifth of seven children, I went to the same public school as my three
older sisters and brother. Every year, my mother went to the same pageant
and had parent/child interviews with the same teachers. The only thing
different was the child. And every child participated in an old school
tradition – the annual plant sale held in early May, just in time for Mother's
Day.
Third grade was the
first time that I was allowed to take part in the plant sale. I wanted to
surprise my mother, but I didn't have any money. I went to my oldest
sister and shared the secret, and she gave me some money. When I arrived
at the plant sale, I carefully made my selection. I agonized over that
decision, inspecting each plant to ensure that I had indeed found the best
geranium. Once I had smuggled it home, with the help of my sister, I hid
it on the upstairs neighbor's porch. I was very afraid my mother would
find it before Mother's Day, but my sister assured me that she wouldn't, and
indeed she did not.
When Mother's Day
arrived, I was bursting with pride when I gave her that geranium. I
remember how bright her eyes were, and how delighted she was with my gift.
The year I was
fifteen, my younger sister reached third grade. In early May she came to
me full of wonder and secrecy and told me that there was going to be a plant
sale at school, and she wanted to surprise our mother. Like my older
sister did for me, I gave her some money and off she went. She arrived
home full of nervous excitement, the geranium hidden in a paper bag under her
sweater. "I looked at every plant," she explained, "and I
know I got the best one!"
With a sweet sense
of deju vu, I helped my little sister hide that geranium on the upstairs
neighbor's porch, assuring her that our mother would not find it before Mother's
Day. I was there when she gave my mother the geranium, and I watched them
both bursting with pride and delight. It was like being in a dream I had
already dreamed. My mother noticed me watching, and gave me a soft, secret
smile. With a tug at my heart, I smiled back. I had been wondering
how my mother could pretend to be surprised at this gift from her sixth child,
but as I watched her eyes light up with delight as she was presented with that
most precious gift, I knew she was not pretending.