Flowering

drawing & collage of me - by Letha, Kodak LS753

My dear childhood friend surprised me with a package full of gorgeous declarations of love and encouragement yesterday. One of them was this beautiful collage (above). Tears (joyous ones) rolled down my cheeks when I pulled this out of the envelope. Through the 23 years we've known one another on our life's journey, we've seen each other through such messy~beautiful times. It filled me with such warmth that she and I have been able to evolve together into such a parallel way of living. She still gets me and I still get her and her wise words always find its way into the garden I have planted for her in my heart.

She waters that garden as she say's this:

"I have this picture of you up. I've always loved it and just started sketching it as I thought about you. I kept thinking..."flowering". Everything for you is flowering. Your business, it is beginning and you will see its blooms soon. Your new life path, your self acceptance and gentleness. Your journey into parenthood and the great journey of being a parent...all flowering. I kept seeing soft pink...this color makes me feel calm, soothed, safe, feminine, fragile, beautiful."

I love you, Letha.

I appreciate so much that you took precious time out of your absolutely insane schedule of commissions and creating gorgeous clothes to just play, doodle, sketch from your heart as you said you needed to. I am honored that when you dove into that sacred space of play...that you thought of me.

Silly young days of school camps, made up dance routines, songs about the Heat Miser and Kermit the frog, long talks on your bed about all we wanted to be when we grew up, a bottle of wine and the Transformation Game, a plethora of paintings of mermaids and dolphins swirl in my head as I write this.

All these sweet memories water our garden and keep us flowering...