~the GaRden of tulip delights...

Have you experienced the loss of of any of your immediate family members?  How have you dealt with & processed that loss & accompanying grief?  I, myself, unfortunately had to learn to deal with this in the last 4 years; when not 1, but 2 family members passed away within a short time of each other.  First, a brother; then my momma.  Figuring out emotions & learning to cope has been an interesting experience, to say the least.  Sometimes I think I can put my feelings into words; but at many other times there simply are no words that come ~ then it is only faith, prayers and/or tears that bring relief. I truly am thankful that I believe the end of this life on earth is not literally "the" end!

At the time I instinctively got creative, as one way to help myself work through emotions.  For my brother, I wrote a poem, and created a photo book containing a visual record of his life's milestones & accomplishments, and many of his simple, every day antics & activities.  For my momma, I organized and assisted in creating the slideshow that was viewed at her funeral & also gave a talk with my sister; each sharing lessons we had learned, as our way of honouring her legacy.  These were activities that surrounded me with wonderful memories and helped buoy me up when my life seemed to have gone grey & murky.

After my brother passed away, the family worked to create a memorial garden at the local Humane Society.  They had recently built & moved into a new facility, and we discovered they were wanting to develop a small garden area on one side of their building, so we asked if we could help them with this project & they agreed.  The first thing installed was a garden bench.  Then a couple of trees & some shrubs were planted.  Three & a half years ago, I decided to dig out all my tulip bulbs from my flower beds at home & transplant them into our memorial GaRden.  It was, after all, a battle every year to see who would be the benefactor of my tulips at home any ways: 1) me, to see them live long enough to actually bloom; or, 2) the local deer herds, to eat them as fresh & tasty spring shoots!  Prior to that, the tally had mostly been: deer = win; me = lose (unless I was able to outsmart the 4-legged, white-tailed rascals & erect a chicken wire fence before they realized the said tasty tulips had even awakened from a long, winter nap)!

Becoming one the GaRden guardians along with several other family members (i.e. sisters, brothers, hubs, & pops), has been a great, creative, but longer-lasting memorial effort to remember beloved family members. It also really is a fitting tribute to both, who certainly loved, loved, loved their own critters AND enjoyed playing in the dirt!  We have continued to transplant a variety of other perennials from our flower beds, watered, mowed grass, put down a mulch layer, removed weeds & refinished the bench as it has weathered.  FINALLY, I am able to enjoy my tulips' now bountiful blooms, where they can flourish safely away from the scavenging teeth of creatures craving a delectable springtime salad to fill their bellies!  I stopped in at the GaRden the other day to see how it was doing so far this year.  Guess, what I found?  Yep, a long row of delightful tulips in full bloom, on a glorious spring day. So, I grabbed my trusty camera & shot away. Enjoy this original ~made by marie~ polyptych...

** the GaRden = the G(ary)a(nd)R(ita)den!