Yesterday Elias and Michelle gifted Tina, Tina's mom, and me to a day at the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show. It was a beautiful gesture on their part, especially given the love that Tina and her mother have of horticulture. I did in fact find it a pleasure, and found a few things of special interest.
One was the Bonsai display.
This tree was started a few years after I was born. So it's old.
I present it here as a symbol of my life. I too, as the definition of Bonsai goes, was planted in a container. That container has changed over my lifetime, starting with my family, then moving to college life, the Army, Philadelphia for a short season, and then to the community in which I now reside.
All along the way, just as this tree has been, I was pruned. I was pruned by various people, various circumstances, various communities. And now, as this tree is emblematic of the careful hands of a gardener, I represent 60 plus years of pruning and care by the people around me.
Each of those people pruned and shaped me a little differently. Each took swipes at various parts of my being.
If I get the motivation, I may map out those caregivers in my life, and lay out the work they did. It will take me a long time to do that, as it was a slow process, and is still happening daily.
Just as this tree has undergone slow transformation, hopefully for the better, I trust that I too have undergone a slow and meticulous transformation under the careful hands of my pruners. You may not care for the end result, which is fine, but it is the to-date result of people I appreciate.
Perhaps you will enjoy reading about my pruners and their work. If so, keep an eye out.
Peace
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