In the garden with the hibiscus and jasmine reflecting on 23 years cancer-free

“The hibiscus are blooming similar crazy. You person to travel retired and see,” the night-blooming jasmine texted maine from the courtyard. “On my way,” I texted backmost arsenic I opened the doorway to the palest of pinkish blossoms warring for abstraction connected the overcrowded bush.

Do you often get texts from flowers, you mightiness ask. Actually, I do.

I usually reply to their messages from my beforehand structure swing, wherever I americium sitting arsenic I constitute this. It is the aforesaid spot I sat 23 years agone the time I recovered retired I had cancer.

On that day, the present six-foot-tall hibiscus bush was a small works that was conscionable pushing its mode into the world. I would ticker cautiously implicit the adjacent fewer months to spot if it survived. Just arsenic I watched myself.

Back then, the plantings successful the small courtyard were each young and excited to grow.

“Look astatine me!” the erstwhile tiny spot of jasmine messaged maine from beneath the crepe myrtle tree. Now it covers the full trunk of the histrion with vines artfully entangled successful the wrought robust introduction gate.

Two tiny bougainvilleas galloped up the unfastened reddish tile obstruction we had built to enclose the courtyard. They person grown truthful beardown they endanger to instrumentality down the obstruction if they are not trimmed frequently. Over the years, the flowers continued to exemplary endurance for me. As they got stronger, I got stronger, and yes, they texted maine messages of enactment arsenic good arsenic reminders.

“Did you locomotion today? We got you done 23 cancer-free years. Don’t stroke it present by forgetting to exercise.”

We person a unsocial relationship, the flowers and I. Our lives person go bound up successful each others’ survival. I person spent galore hours connected this plaything talking to them done bully times and little bully times. They person cried with maine and celebrated with me.

I cheque successful with my plot cheerleaders each twelvemonth astatine this clip erstwhile I cognize to expect their texts – substance I admit that lone I tin see.

“Thank you,” I volition reply. “You person been specified bully company.”

Email patriciabunin@sbcglobal.net travel her connected Twitter @patriciabunin and her website patriciabunin.com