Potted Plant Symbolism

I got a little pot of flowers from church for Mother's Day. That's pretty standard fair in my 8 years experience as a mother.

One year I got a pot of flowers that was nearly dead. It felt particularly fitting that year. I can't even remember why (exactly).

This year I got a beautiful, robust plant. Maybe it's because I'm looking so "robust." Anyway, I opened the kitchen window for a little relief from the stuffy kitchen air. Less than 5 minutes later, Nathan reported that my plant had blown into the sink. Daniel followed him with the plant and showed me, repeatedly, how it was loose and came right out of its pot.

I tried to scoop out as much dirt from the sink as I could save, but I was fighting a few dirty dishes. (Oh yeah, like your sinks are empty and spotless at 4:30 in the afternoon!) So now my plant leans a little in its pot. It looks a little weary. And here's where I wax philosophical.

Sometimes you're sittin' pretty in motherhood and all is calm and beautiful. Then, someone opens a window somewhere...even for a good reason...and you find yourself upside down in the sink of dirty dishes. Some of your kids will show concern and rush in to help. Others may rough you up a little more and really test your endurance. Eventually, you'll get helped back into your pot, but life may be a bit off kilter until you can get a little more dirt back into your pot to give you back the strength you lost in the dirty sink. Don't worry - everything will be OK.

Just don't let that plant die. That's a different symbolism I'm not ready to consider right now.