remembering twiga

i had a moment last night that was touching and i wanted to share it. i was talking to a friend about house plants, and brought up the amazing staying power and propagation potential of pathos.  if you don't know what pathos are, most people mistakenly call them philodendron.

my pathos has been with me in WA, ID, UT and now OR - it's the big one in the window

anyway, i have a big pathos that has been with me for a long time.  in talking about my pathos i was reminded that it was gifted to me by a very special person - tara clarke. in takling about the pathos with my friend i remembered the day tara gave me the little guy, happily growing up out of a glass POM bottle, because she was heading home for the summer and did not think she wanted to keep it.  i am always interested in taking in strays that photosynthesize, so i made a home for the pathos in my apartment.  it's been with me ever since.

in 2006 we lost tara to cancer.  she'd fought it bravely for years, and was an activist, advocate, educator, and, in my opinion, spiritual guru.  she loved valentines day (i still have valentines she made me), country swing dancing, romantic comedies (we watched 'the truth about cats and dogs' together many many times), and giraffes (her nickname, twiga, means giraffe in swahili).  she was a beautiful person who gave to others, saw the good in every situation, and espoused gentleness and kindness always.  i was lucky enough to work with her in stephenson south hall, and though i was her supervisor i always more thought of myself as her friend.

such a beautiful and amazing person

it is amazing how little things can bring up memories - i love the reminders of life.  for years after tara moved on she would come to me in dreams and we would talk.  more recently she has not, and though i miss her, i imagine that perhaps at this time in life we are not in need of one another.  perhaps we will be again.  regardless, the pathos she gave me is alive and well in my house in oregon, and i regularly give out cuttings to people to start their own.  

twiga lives on in many ways.