Rhubarb Flowers and A Normal Day

I don’t know how this normal day happened in the midst of our personal turmoil over John’s declining health. But it did. We had perfect weather that was hot with a blue sky and hardly a cloud, but not much wind. So first we sat and ruminated with a cup of something near our first fish pond. I took my gumboots off and socks and put my bare feet on the lush grass in front of me. John didn’t. He was more comfortable with just sitting in the sun and having his feet extended onto another chair.
We chatted quietly and thought about what we wanted to accomplish. After leaving that area John laid down on the grass in the front garden and seemed very relaxed while I planted endless clumps of needle thin green onions in a nearby bucket. This took forever, giving John ample time to really rest. We had just finished another project we wanted to accomplish by cleaning up the claw foot bath that was in a corner of the back garden that needed regenerating and a few extra plants. I did all of the planting and water sprinkling and he did most of the carting around of supplies and tools needed for various chores. That arrangement suited both of us. Although it may not sound very exciting, for us it was the first normal daytime activity we’d done together in ages. We have been running from pillar to post trying to find a balance between worrying about his health and feeling that despite the prognosis, we’ve got this covered with life enhancing alternative treatments that we know work.
Conventional medicine told us that this is incurable and aggressive. We took that in but knew of other ways that can be very effective so have pinned our hopes on, and we have put our trust in those other methods. It takes so much courage to face this head on and to go into an alternative mindset when dealing with serious illness, but we feel that it’s the only option available that gets us to the cure. So we need more normal days and nights to keep his attitude up and his sanity in attendance.
It is much easier to just wallow in the unknown but of course that leads nowhere.
So, we’ve got lots of different things lined up and have found a lovely doctor to consult with too for some help with anxiety using an anticancer medication. We have high hopes for success and feel that’s the only way to attack this head on with everything we’ve got.
Wish us luck. That seems to always help too no matter the odds.
I saw the rather fat rhubarb flowers while I was cleaning up a really messy plot of cos lettuce that had weeds coming through the back fence in profusion. To the side of that area was John’s plot of rhubarb and chives and parsley but something seemed to be growing out of the rhubarb leaves that resembled limey yellow green mini broccoli. I wasn’t even sure if they were flowers or the beginnings of seeds but I knew that they needed to be cut off from the stalks and after I did that, it felt natural to put them in assorted vases. They’ve lasted a few days and still look quite beautiful though a bit dog eared and floppy. See what you think from these photos.
We’ve been here almost 14 years yet I’ve never noticed them. Goes to show you where my head has been. Hmmm…I wonder what else I’ve missed around the place and in my garden particularly. I guess that’s just a human frailty that I have, to look without seeing, without comprehending or taking note of. Oh well. I mustn’t be too hard on myself. I need to be a tower of strength and positivity for John. There will be plenty of time for self-incriminating thoughts once we’re past this hurdle. Or not.