Hydrangeas and Mother's Day

Mother's Day sixteen years ago I spent with my son and his family in North Carolina. My daughter-in-law and I have had a mixed relationship over the years, so I was surprised when she gave me a pretty little blue potted hydrangea as a gift. It was the first thing that I added to the plantings in my yard. A year later I moved it to a new location on the side of the back of my house where it has thrived. It is now about 1000 times bigger than when I got it, and its flowers still tend toward blue. I looked at it yesterday, and it is covered in buds, so it should not be long before I can enjoy a vase full of hydrangea blooms. Each spring when it starts to bloom I think of my daughter-in-law and her thoughtfulness on that Mother's Day. Given that our relationship has more often been strained than not, it is a lasting reminder that love and understanding are always possible to attain, even if occasionally. The image above was taken of one of its bloom heads five years ago, but I anticipate equal or better beauty this year. And when those blooms open, I will thank my daughter-in-law once again for her thoughtfulness and her gift of beauty that Mother's Day which I can still enjoy.