This is a picture of a blooming peace lily. It normally sits on the counter, right next to this laptop, but I thought the dining room table would be more aesthetically pleasing for a picture. What is so special about this plant? It is the last of the living plants that we received the week after Thomas died. We got a number of them, but the rest have all gone. This one looks to be immortal. One of the other November 2004 moms also got a lot of plants--several years ago we compared survival rates (neither of us having a good record)--I must ask her whether she has any left too. This is the first time I remember seeing this thing bloom since we got it and I have no idea why it did this time. In honor of the effort though, I dusted off its leaves for the first time in . . . a while. Maybe this is a metaphor for hope, springing up unexpectedly from a not very promising source.

Hmmm. PS: The prints in the background are from a Native American artist named April White. Look her up!