What Will Bloom

At our new home we acquired amazing landscaping. There are roses, perennials that attract bees and butterflies, flowering trees, hostas and more hostas. There are some things I don't like (like those ferns that seem to take over whichever bed they are in), and lots I don't know. But, I'm looking things up and learning. 

I'm learning that trees shouldn't have things planted too close to their trunk. I didn't plant anything, but I also didn't thin enough this Spring (not knowing what was going to be coming up). I'm learning that some plants need to be let to wilt and yellow - and that helps with next year's flowering. But, there are some that should be deadheaded. 

The rosebuds in the picture above are, I believe, the 3rd flowering of this plant. Theses plants are surviving Japanese Beetles (my nemesis...or perhaps I should say I have become their nemesis). When I smell their sweetness I think of the Hunger Games descriptions of President Snow's flower's smell. They have a strong, sweet aroma. They are pretty. And, they are determined. They keep coming back, ready to blossom. 

I'm identifying with these buds, myself. Except I'm eager to get to that point where something is about to bloom - where I'll begin to see the color, smell the fragrance of what I will do with my energy beyond home and children. I have some ideas, but I also wonder if there is something out there that will reveal itself to me that is unlike what I have done before. 

Follow Ups

Both Gabriel's kindergarten introduction and my mom's appointment with the neurologist went well. Nothing huge at this time with Gabriel. We are preparing for eLearning. We ordered a kid's table and chair to use as a desk for him. We are meeting one of his classmates for the first time at the park tomorrow. All will be well. It will be different, but not to him. It will be something that he and his classmates will always be able to gage time with - how they began their schooling differently than most.

My mom's appointment brought some encouraging news - that perhaps she doesn't have Alzheimer's, but aphasia. I don't really know what that means. I'm not sure my parents are altogether sure either. But, they were given some homework (foods to eat, exercise to do, games to play), which feels more hopeful than simply taking a pill.

This new normal is going to take some care - some intentionality of paying attention both to the social aspect of Kindergarten for Gabriel, and of the ways I'm might be able to support my parents from afar. 

Next Stages of Life

Tomorrow my family has two vastly different assessments. Well, three if you count that someone is coming to measure our windows for the whole-house replacement for which we've already signed the papers.

Tomorrow I bring Gabriel into his elementary school for the first time. The purpose is for an assessment that the kindergarten teachers do in order to help them balance their classrooms well. My understanding is that I will wait somewhere while he will go with one of the teachers to a classroom. There are, of course, Covid protocols of masks and distance and disinfecting that will be in place. But, this is the first time we are stepping into the school. The first real step of Gabriel representing himself without me. I'm proud of him. I'm excited for him. 

Tomorrow, my mom and dad go to meet with a neurologist. Mom has had symptoms - and then appointments and tests that indicate that she is in an early stage of Alzheimer's disease. I've known - ministered - to people with Alzheimer's, of course. But I haven't really studied it - or known much about it other than how I've related to those I served. It's now very personal and while I want to know more, I'm struggling to read either of the books I've gotten or to spend any time learning more. I will as it all sinks in.

Both Gabriel entering school (especially since we're beginning with eLearning) and Mom's diagnosis are at the very beginning of these next stages. And, I begin my time as part of the sandwich generation. Each will need me to slowly change the way I relate to them. Gabriel, as he gains more independence. Mom, as she loses some. Gabriel will need me differently - and I will need to figure out how to need my mom differently too.