Party?

Salt Lake City

Hello,

Last night Leroy and I went to an Epiphany party hosted by the area Lutheran pastors. There was a potluck as well a gift exchange of white elephants for those who wanted to participate. At first Leroy and I thought we would just not do it since we did not really want to gather more things into our lives plus we did not really have any white elephants with us as they take up too much room.

However, on Saturday I repotted a crowded Sansevieria for Miriam. I put the three best specimen back in the pot for her and resisted throwing out the additional eleven. I thought she might take them to share with people at church, but that did not happen. All of a sudden I realized I now had many white elephants that I could corral into two pens.

If you know me at all you know that I do not feel comfortable in the gift giving/wrapping arena. I threw caution to the winds, cut off much of the tops of two milk jugs, put in a little water, added five plants in one and six in the other, put the jugs in plain brown paper bags, and hid the contents with tissue paper.

I felt good about this brilliant rescue mission until at the party I could see all the nicely wrapped packages nestled up next to my plain brown grocery bags. My emotions dropped a bit more when I saw many things that people had probably gone out and purchased; white elephant indeed. Later there were a few gag items so that helped bring me back up a little. The person who got the first set of plants was obviously rather dismayed when they opened it so I felt obligated to say that I had brought it and why – because I could not throw them out. Later when people could take someone else’s gift another person took them and I was so happy. There was a rescue of the plants and me. The other person who got the second set also had someone else take them. I did tell this woman again about how I could not just toss them. She said, “I understand, I have a house full of plants.”

Several times today I thought about those plants enjoying life in a new home and was very happy.

We will be leaving here on Thursday not Wednesday as I stated in the last letter. For some reason I was just off a day. Andy will be gone tomorrow and Wednesday so we are staying to help Miriam.

Paula