Hybrid Style Art by Isteb

A daisy a day

A daisy a day

Was absolutely devastated. It was usual day, my dad was out at the wood chipper concocting his special mulch for the daisies “old Family secret” he would say. Mom was in the house cooking dinner. And when dinner was done, she called for him like she did every day for 40 years, but this time she got no response. My brother was there, so he went outside to see where Dad was at and found him on the ground. That’s what he called my mom, and she grabbed her walker and went outside and found my dad face down with no pulse. No one knows how long he was out there really, but Mom stayed out there for at least an hour, I don’t know what she said to him or to God, but I know within a week she was in the hospital almost dead herself. After 911 took my dad away, my mom was alone for a moment and that may have been a moment or the moment that she shed a tear Because by the time all of us kids got there she appeared in shock and really couldn’t say much. I kneeled down next to her and laid my head in her lap and told her I would never leave her alone as long as she lived. For the next almost 5 years I got to hold her hand while she fell asleep every night and hear stories of her life that I never heard before. The first year we decided to plant what’s called a Jerry Oak which was fitting because his name was Jerry and he was strong as an oak! Our plan was for when the tree got big enough. I would plant a heart-shaped patch of daisies around the base of the oak tree. I painted a box and all of my siblings and my parents’ grandchildren placed small personal items inside this box and then everybody sign their name,then we placed it in a hard plastic clear container to preserve its integrity because mom wanted me to paint her a box to match his, but she wanted to place items in this box while she was still alive and then have the rest of us do the same after she passed. Unfortunately when she passed in 2020 our family exploded and fractured, none of us have spoke since, my daughter inherited the house which still had dad’s box in it and of course the tree in the backyard, I have Mom’s box and I’m not allowed to plant the daisies or even come and visit my daughter or grandson. So now that I have a home of my own, the only way I can keep my promise is to plant a Jerry oak tree and plant the daisies. Now I know it’s won’t be on their property, and the boxes aren’t together as they should be, but I will keep my promise because no one else really has except me my brother for one, but above all because I love them both so much and I miss them with my heart and soul. They deserved better than this.