Planting Flowers
Back a few posts ago, I gave birth to the idea of combining a quote from Abe Lincoln with a sketch Coleen made of a flower. I decided that the sketch she drew was of the exact same flower Abe referred to in his quote and thought it should be immortalized. I don’t know that I have done that, but here is what I did do.The internet is full of companies with websites selling their products and services. Regardless of what you want or need, it can be found with a simple Google search. I wondered about having lapel pins made. Specifically, lapel pins of the flower sketch. It didn’t take long to find several websites that could provide this service. I chose one, sent a photo of the flower pin and received a proof of the proposed design within a few hours. It was good but I didn’t like some of the coloring and asked for a revision. I had that the next day along with a price quote and after I supplied my credit card info, an order was placed for 100 flower pins. No tax, no shipping charges, made in China.
They arrived two days ago via UPS and I could not be happier. I want people to have them like they have the breast cancer pink ribbon. I want to give a pin to everyone in the family. I want to hand them out at the “Strategies on Hopeful Living” conference being held in Coleen’s memory. I want her friends to all have one. And her granddaughters.
To me, the pin represents the story of a woman’s fight against breast cancer. It represents every ounce of courage and hope that became that fight. It speaks to me about a love of family and a wish to make all things somehow, alright. And it says that there is more to be done, more story to be heard. It is a flower planted so others can see the beauty of life, and treasure it and fight their own battles for every precious second. It’s more than a drawing Coleen did one day. It’s a symbol of her life. It’s the flower planted where they thought a flower would grow. Her and Abe.
Ever since I discovered Coleen’s drawing, I knew I was on to something. It wasn’t until I saw it as a lapel pin that I realized it meant more than a symbol of Coleen’s spirit. The flower also represents the journey I have embarked on as my own kind of breast cancer survivor. It reaches out to me with encouragement to replenish my life and recreate myself. And it reaches out not just to me, but to all surviving spouses suddenly finding their way alone instead of with their partner. What better symbol for new seasons and new beginnings than a beautiful flower with fuchsia trimmed petals? Rising anew from the dormancy of winter to grow fresh and strong.
Someone a long time ago decided that a pink ribbon should be the logo that would forever represent breast cancer. I don’t know what will become of the flower but I do know that it is much prettier than a pink ribbon. And it is much more pure and untarnished. And it is more genuine and heartfelt and meaningful and original. It was drawn by a woman who knew she was dying from metastatic breast cancer. It was her message of hope to the rest of us, to her family and friends and sisters in survival whom she was leaving behind. If she could plant a flower, this would be the one she would plant. I like to think she left it here as her way of telling us to keep planting flowers where we think they might grow.
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