A Funeral and a Garden (2)
/Funerals offer a sense of closure…the end of a relationship. They are thought provoking too. I found myself savoring memories – thinking:
Of his career as it happened and then as I learned more about it over the years,
Of his role as a father to his daughter that was my age as well as his other children, a husband (and later caregiver) to his wife,
Of his growing tomatoes and catching huge catfish,
Of trips to state parks, amusement parks, and church camp, and
Of assistance making bug catching nets.
At the funeral I learned more about his love of golf and table games (dominos and cards) than I had witnessed in my growing up years.
The OSU Botanical Garden was a good place to continue my reflections on the lives of my father and his friend over the past 70 years – how the relationship was sustained.
There were unique ornaments in the garden. I wondered if the university’s art department had created some of them – the large metal botanical sculptures, the plates/bowls ‘flowers,’ and the standing frames that held pots or boxes of flowers. There was a garden chess set and a child sized table with chairs. There was a Japanese garden area with stone lanterns/frog house, large rocks, and small red bridge.
There were frequent water sounds from burbling fountains (sometimes rocks). Even the hose containers were decorated.
There were insects in the garden too – sometimes two in the same flower!
There were quite a few white-lined sphinx moths in the salvia. They were moving too fast for good pictures – although good-enough for identification!
My early morning hour in the garden was a good ending to the funeral thoughts before I started the 4-hour drive home.
