the gift of time and protea!
The first week of July brought a bounty of summertime goodness to Heliotrope for Hospice! a big lesson for me in trust, that eventually people come together, whether they know it or not, and the puzzle pieces fit– just when you least expect it… when the timing is right.
First, I got a confirmation from Julia, a wonderful person that I met at the Orchestra Nova event in May (you know, the one with the orchid and succulent screen- see previous blog!), that she was willing to make a huge commitment to Heliotrope. After going thru the volunteer orientation at San Diego Hospice, Julia is delivering 12 bedside floral arrangements to their Hospice Inpatient Care Center at GlenBrook in Carlsbad!! Every week. A huge task– she is driving from La Jolla to Hillcrest to pick up the arrangements and take them to Carlsbad. Did I mention… every week? That’s a lot of miles. Volunteer miles. 60 miles round trip. A huge donation of time and gas money!! I haven’t been able to find someone who would do this task… until now. Julia delivered the first 12 arrangements today, July 9th!
Are you wondering why I mentioned protea in the title of this post?! because, sometimes the donations of older flowers are just enough for the weekly arrangements I make for the patients at the main Hospice Inpatient Care Center. I was wondering if I would have enough to cover this new commitment of 12 more precious arrangements… then I remembered Karen and Jeff- my friends who grow protea in their yard… big, beautiful, full-of-bloom plants!!!
yes, that’s right- in San Diego, we grow these flowers that originate from South Africa and Australia! Karen recently called to tell me the ‘pincushion‘ variety was in full bloom, anytime I would like proteas for hospice, I could bring my clippers and cut whatever I needed!! so, last Friday, I cut 70 pincushion protea to extend the weekly donations. I grouped them with sunflowers, for a bright, exotic summertime feel. Tonight Julia emailed me- the delivery went smoothly, they were thrilled with the flowers. I wanted the first delivery to be special. And it was!
oh, and here’s another bit to share- this week my friend Marge donated more mason jars! Marge is my Mason Jar Queen!! Every time I see her, she just opens up her trunk, and there are boxes of mason jars. Just when I need them… how does she know?! fine intuition!! so my thanks to Julia, Marge, Karen and Jeff! This is the bounty of summertime goodness, when all the pieces fit, and flowers are for celebrating life and love.
Thanks Sister! It was an amazing week, for sure!