Generosity Can Take Many Forms

I want to share the story of how I came to have this spectacular German Bearded Iris blooming in my yard. Huge silk-like purple blooms on thick sturdy stems. I love them.

During the pandemic, my mom (now 88) lived with us from March to August. She enjoyed watching our neighborhood activity from a chair by the house and we walked up and down the street for exercise almost every day. Part of the fun of spring is seeing plants develop and thrive and we gave steady commentary on how all of the local plants were doing. A favorite stop was neighbor Barb's huge purple iris planted right near the street. We watched the leaves grow and fan out and were so pleased to see stalk after stalk rise up out of the huge iris bed. We would stand and talk about them every day when they were in bloom and marvel and the size of the purple heads. It is a vivid memory of mine. 

So when Barb divided her rhizomes and left me a large section about a year later I was surprised and delighted. She was moving and said that "We need to make sure your mom can keep enjoying these iris!" Doesn't that make your heart swell?

What a lovely thought and gesture. She knew she had the power to guarantee delight and she wanted to make it happen. And it worked. Her iris are thriving and my mom and I were discussing the stalks as they were starting to open on Sunday and admired this arrangement yesterday on FaceTime. In fact, she told me to take the photo above and show the arrangement to Barb. Delight continues.

Have you thought about generosity in those terms lately? It takes courage to tell someone "I want you to have this." When it is right, the effect is positive and long-lasting. 

#neighbors #iris #sharing