ABOUT GRANNY'S VIOLETS
In 2018, I published my second book titled: The Old Man on the Bench – A Beautiful Day. Here is one of my favourite passages from this work
Growing up, I met a most peculiar woman. At the time, she was 85 years old and the great-grandmother of a childhood friend. She was my dad's best friend's grandmother [are you following this?]. Granny Gow lived in an old, ragged house with green siding by the river at the end of our street. She had never had any money and survived on very little. I didn't know much about her except that she had a piano, which could be "switched" into a harpsichord, made the most incredible cookies, and had the most beautiful plants. So, a few times a year, when my friend Kyla would visit, we would end up at Granny's house and enjoy sandwiches, snacks and conversation.
As life would have it, Granny grew extremely old and was eventually admitted to the local hospital. (From which she escaped a few times, for she did NOT want to be told what to do]. During one of our last visits to Granny's house with my Mom, the beloved great-grandmother handed her a pink-violet – or what Granny said was a pink-violet. The plant had not blossomed in some time, but she wanted my Mom to take one (which my Mother did with extreme excitement). Granny was the plant lover of the town, and to have one of hers was quite the honour. Mom brought it home, found a special place for the violet and took care of it. The leaves remained solid and green. But there was never a flower to see. And so, we waited and wondered if, one day, it would sprout.
Granny Gow eventually fell asleep and moved to Spirit World to care for the Universal Gardens. I remember crying with my parents about the loss of such a wonderful human being. And then Life carried on – as it always does – and though we still missed her, we didn't talk about Granny as much as we did before.
It had been a few months since her passing to Spirit World. One day, my Mom was excited during her Saturday morning chores: Granny's violets had finally bloomed. One little pink bud – adorning the green leaves. The next day, there was another one – and yet another. The violet kept blooming and blooming and got very big. My Mother decided it was time to divide the plant into other pots. And the plants kept blooming and blooming. My Mom's friends came over to see the plants – and she shared them with her. I think the entire neighbourhood received a violet from Granny Gow. We always laughed when we talked about it – but Mom said that Granny lived on in the plants – that her Love and Spirit for Life had kept on through the beautiful pink flowers. It was my first real sign that Life DOES go on when you move on to another realm.
Five years ago, when Mom moved into a home because of her Life Journey, I went upstairs and found the remnants of one of Granny's violet plants. It had died because Mom's memory prevented her from watering the plant, so it could no longer live. I cried hard that day, knowing they had meant so much to Granny and my Mom. I ached as I noted that the cycle had ended – along with the happy memories that went along with the little plant. It was a beautiful story – one woman, one plant, and many lives touched. I also smiled because of all the memories attached to a great woman and her little plant. I am willing to bet that our older neighbours still have one of Granny's violets blooming in the sunshine of their homes.
BIO
Anne (St. Louis) Gingras is a neuro-diverse individual who is also a wife, mother, teacher, writer, author, blogger, composer, international public speaker, life coach, energy worker, intuitive coach, mentor and death doula who also enjoys spending time in her miniature worlds. She is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Education (honoris causa) from Nipissing University in North Bay.
Anne (St. Louis) Gingras est une personne qui célèbre sa neuro-différence. Elle est entre autres une épouse, maman, enseignante, écrivaine, blogueuse, compositrice, conférencière internationale, coach de vie, travailleuse en énergie, coach intuitive, mentor et doula (accent sur la mort ), qui adore passer ses moments libres au sein de ses mondes miniatures. Elle est récipiendaire d’un doctorat honorifique en éducation (honoris causa) de l’université Nipissing, de North Bay.
