I am grateful to my aunt, uncle and cousin for sending along, via my sister, the photos that accompany this post. As anyone who has read this blog knows, my sister and I spent some time this spring trying to arrange a suitable memorial for our beloved mother in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. Unfortunately, since I live about 1500 kilometres away, I haven't been able to monitor progress nor, now that the tree and plaque have been installed, to visit the site.

As a result, I was pleased to learn about a month ago that the tree had been acquired and planted; I was even more pleased when I received these photos (and others), my first views of the memorial. I think it looks great. Apparently, the tree is already quite tall (close to 15 feet maybe) and is located close to the access road but in a relatively quiet, secluded place.

I miss my mother very much and still think about her every day (as the plaque says). I am having a hard time believing that it is now about 17 months since I last talked to her, heard her laugh. We watched our wedding video the other day and I was surprised and moved to see her on it, very much alive and vibrant, enjoying the day. I had forgotten she was on there and am grateful to have that video, to have those brief glimpses of her at least.

We spent much of our time together over her last few years wandering the parks and trails in and around the City of Hamilton and, most particularly, the RBG. Mom loved those natural wonders and enjoyed bird watching and people watching as we puttered along. I think our tribute is a wonderfully fitting one and I hope to visit it one day soon. I agree with Patti, though: while the sentiment we chose to place on the plaque is both true and lovely, Patti's own suggestion ("This tree is for the birds, people") would also have been perfectly fitting and so very much my mom.

Tags: Janny Walma, RBG, Plane Tree