Artifact From Minnesota Childhood Provides Personal Motivation

My name in a child's scrawl is still legible on the base.

A childhood friend from Minnesota visited us with her family on her way back to her home in Victoria, BC.

We recounted many shared moment together growing up, then she gave me the flower pictured. I had given it to her mother in the early `70s. She had kept it until she passed away in `94 and my friend had taken over its curation.

My friend's mother had six children and many grandchildren -- out of so many talented kids producing artifacts why she had kept my flower is a mystery. She thought it looked nice is the answer that springs first to mind.

I am touched by the memory, by the kindness of this family, by my friend's bringing me the actual flower instead of just telling me about it.

Looking at the flower, as I have over the past couple of days, reminds me of the person I imagined I'd be when I was a child and the person I am. I can't help but feel that somewhere, somehow I did something right. This thought inspires me to return to some elusive core, a place free of suspicion and cynicism. A reminder to let the anger and details of daily life fall away, and be the person I choose to become.