The Death of The Stick

This story goes back a good while and involves a colonoscopy.   I just searched old blog posts and it goes back before February, 2015 when I first wrote about it.    To catch you up, my best friend asked me to drive her to her colonoscopy.   To thank me for this small time investment she gave me an orchid.  

I don’t do well with plants.   I love them outside but I don’t want to have to figure out how to not kill them inside.    I tried my best with this obligation after the colonoscopy driving obligation.   In February 2015 the flowers fell off, leaving me with a tall stick and four leaves.   Apparently the flowers will come back.   They never did.

My mother-in-law told me I needed to cut the stick off because a new stick would grow if I did.   A new stick never grew.   Slowly, very slowly over time three leaves began to grow.   No new stick though.   I followed the lighting and watering instructions and this orchid just didn’t like me.  

But it was for the colonoscopy and it was a thank you and dang it, I wasn’t letting my friend off the hook because for giving me a stick that became a non-stick.

Last night my daughter accidentally knocked over the plant and the pot shattered.  In the process it took off the little leaves that had been struggling for a year to grow two inches.   My daughter was very upset.   But she wasn’t hurt, which was good.  

I cleaned up the plant and saved it for my mother-in-law to assess today as she is quite knowledgeable when it comes to plants.   She said it was time to let the non-stick go.   So it’s now down the hill with Lucy the dog.  

I asked her if I should mourn or celebrate the passing of the most challenging houseplant I’ve ever had.   She said it was time to celebrate.  

The Big Boy Update:  My son told me when he grows up he doesn’t want to throw away his stuffed animals.   As flashes of Toy Story went through my mind I told him he didn’t have to.   He said, “it’s a waste of money.”   Then he wanted to know if I had thrown mine away.   I said I didn’t have all of mine but that there were several in the pile of stuffed animals they had that were mine when I was young.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  When we were in New Jersey visiting family my daughter was interested in the Roomba that cleaned when we went out.    She didn’t like it going into the room they were staying in though and told Uncle Eric, “when you leave, make sure the door to the office is closed because I don’t want the Roomba to mess with my stuff.”

Longer Run:   We ran seventeen miles today.   I think we could have done eighteen but it was infernally hot and very humid.   I was eating base salts the whole run but I was still crusty all over from sweating.  Next week we’ll go for nineteen or twenty.