Personal Pruning

The past few years have brought about a great learning curve for me as a caregiver. For Mom, I have learned how to effectively put on compression hose, back braces, and knee braces. For Dad, I have learned how to crush medicines, feed with a feeding tube, care for granulomas, and program for night time feeding pumps. Basically, I have become an expert on Parkinson's, scoliosis, stenosis, PHN, and a wide variety of other medical issues.

If you have ever been to Mom and Dad's house, you know the beauty of their backyard. Many years ago, a man gave Dad many rose bushes, which have become a favorite pastime of the Baptist Rabbi and his wife. Over the past few years, many of the rose bushes have been replaced with Knock Out Roses, and quite often, they battle the deer and beavers trying to eat them. Mom and Dad have had countless hours of joy working in their backyard and enjoying the scenery on their glassed-in back porch. While I was there today, we saw ducks, chipmunks, and a multitude of birds come to visit. It is a beautiful place to be. In fact, Dad said the other day, "If you have to be homebound, there is no better place to be than on this back porch."

Due to heath issues, Mom can no longer work in her roses. Dad can go out for a brief period of time, but his stamina is not as it once was. Therefore, as their caregiver, they trained me on what to do. They taught me how to prune. Dad taught me that it was important to cut off the dead blooms and dead parts of the bush so that the plant would not spend energy trying to nourish the parts of the plant that were not longer living. It is important to cut off the dying blooms so that the plant will use its energy to develop new growth and new booms. So now, every Saturday is "Pruning Day" at the Dean household. I take Mom's special scissors to the rose bushes and I cut off the dead blooms and limbs off the rose bushes. And I will have to admit.....I find great joy in it! There is something theraputic about ridding of the old and making room for the new.

And so the Baptist Rabbi, once again, teaches me a life lesson. Life is a journey, full of new experiences. However, the only way that we can continue to grow and bloom is if we are willing to let go of the dead blooms and limbs in our life. Hanging on to them inhibits our ability to move forward and experience the the fullness of life. Continuing to use our energy on parts of us that are dead is detrimental. We must be willing to cut away those areas of our life so that our energy can be spent on something new, brighter, and better. Once we grow accustom to letting go of the "dead" parts of our life, we enter a theraputic, energizing stage that allows us to continue to develop and grow. There is great satisfaction to be found in personal pruning. There is peace to be found in letting go of the parts of our life that suck the energy from us and keep us from developing more blooms.

I must say....I have never had a green thumb. However, Dad teaching me the importance of pruning has allowed me to finally be successful in having beautiful roses in my front yard. I have shared my secret of pruning with several neighbors and friends who have found the same joy in eliminating the dead parts of their rose bushes.

We can't hold onto the past and move forward at the same time. When parts of our life are sucking energy, but not producing blooms, it is time to cut it away. Then sit in patience, waiting for the new growth and blooms to develop in our lives.

Thank you, Sam and Marie, for showing me the power of pruning. May we all realize that life is a cycle of cutting back and growing forward. May we all strive to find the power to cut away the dead parts of our lives, allowing for new growth and larger blooms.