Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Monday, August 11, 2008

Tenacious Life

My Mom has had ivy growing on the front porch as long as I can remember. Mom planted it at each porch post and over the years it has grown up across the whole length of the porch . The house is on a "slab" foundation and I always thought that the porch was just an extention of the slab. But, maybe not.....
A wonderful neighbor comes over every morning and brings the newpaper up onto the porch near the front door, so Mom won't have to walk out to the street to pick it up. This is the same person that takes her garbage cans in and out for her and calls to see if she needs help when someone stands too long at the front door. He is 72 years old and tells really corny jokes: But he has always been there for my parents. He is a truly good person.
So yesterday morning I went out to get the paper and underneath the Sunday Times was this.....
Right were the stucco meets the concrete was this one ivy leaf growing out of the space between the wall and the porch. This spot is at least 6 or 7 feet from the edge of the porch where the rest of the ivy is growing. That little slip of ivy had to wiggle it's way under at least 6ft of concrete and find a crack where it could finally grow up to the surface and find light.
So now I'm thinking that the slab and the concrete porch may have been two separate pieces and that there is a gap just wide enough to let a very small ivy root squeeze through because..., there it is, growing where nothing should be growing. I'm amazed that this ivy had the tenacity to search for and find the "light" that it so badly needed.
When I asked Mom to "Come and look at this, your not going to believe it." She said... "I know what you saw." She said she had seen it a few days before and wondered if I would see it too.

Maybe this is a lesson taught by example; of a life that has been worth living and included a great struggle for identity while always finding beauty in every corner. Mom and this small ivy leaf know what life is. I guess they know each other well.
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7 comments:

  1. sounds to me like you have one smart Mom :) cool on the Ivy i can't seem to keep any alive but other things I try to grow seem to do well!
    Hugs Laura

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  2. What a wonderful real life parable. You know not many people would have even given the little slip of ivy a second thought. In fact I would guess that most would have just plucked it from that small space and tossed it aside.

    I think I am about to get things back on an even keel around here. I have missed my visits. Still trying to catch up with everyone.

    By the way, I love your little inside/out house. :o)

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  3. Hello Farmlady,

    I popped over from Becky's "Adult Deprived" blog where I saw your comment. Hope you don't mind.

    I noticed in your profile that you liked gourd art. I am a new gourd crafter (3 years) and I enjoy growing and crafting gourds from my small farm in North Carolina.

    I enjoyed reading your previous posts and enjoy your photography, especially the farm animals and the sunflowers. They remind me of some posts that I have done.

    Thanks for letting me visit with you a while. Come over to visit me at my blog, "Plant Lady's Ponderings" anytime!

    Be Blessed,
    Plant Lady

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  4. Lovely tribute to your dear mother.

    I lived in an old house in Fairfield for 15 years that was practically buried in ivy on the front porch. I'd hack it back and before I could turn around it had grown back. Hardy stuff that ivy.

    Thanks for coming to my blog today.
    And I do hope you make it to Terry's show. It will be so worth it. Her work is truly wonderous to behold in person.

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  5. What a wonderful find. I love receiving encouragement from God's creation. Amazing!

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  6. How sweet to find a proverb in the stray ivy sprig. The teeming of life in the garden always makes me smile. I see no weeds or pests, only wildflowers and visitors. (Though I must admit I do invite some pesky visitors to leave, via a jar of soapy water if necessary -- rose weevils really bug me!) I have boston ivy on my house and it is "loving" the warm walls of summer. Your mom sounds precious and her neighbor is a gem. : )

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