Last Friday was the fifth anniversary of my Dad's passing. He has been on my mind. In fact, not a day goes by when I don't think of him. Of my many passions, two are directly attributable to his influence: my love for gardening and for reading. He told me often how, as a child, his father would rouse on him for 'always having his head stuck in a book'.
As a child, two of his favourite books were 'The Good Master' by Kate Seredy and 'Reach for the Sky' by Paul Brickhill. They in turn became favourites of mine, and now my children read them.
I have just finished reading a book called 'The Language of Flowers', a debut novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I enjoyed it enormously. It is the story of a young woman, tormented by memories of a childhood of mistreatment at the hands of a succession of foster parents. Psychologically scarred, her preferred way to communicate with others is through flowers and their Victorian meanings. Her journey is to learn to trust the love of others.
This book is warmly written, and an easy, uncomplicated read. As a gardener, I loved the powerful role flowers played in the narrative. For me, the story's appeal is in the concept that flowers might comfort psychological distress and nurture hope.
And so my two inherited passions, gardening and reading, came together with this book, read in February 2012, as I thought of my Dad.
É...PAI...Que lindas lembranças te fazem seguir,e passar ensinamentos,aparentemente tão singelos mas, de uma sabedoria...Para seus filhos que seguirão seus ensinamentos como você de seu saudoso pai.Tenho boas lembranças também do meu...Lá se vão 24 anos sem ele...saudade vem e vai,tristeza eu não tenho,pois foi doença e sofrimento,não sei direito essa gama de sentimentos que as vezes ...Meu pai me disse e para todos os 8 filhos que o único lugar que o sucesso vem antes do trabalho é no dicionário...Singelo e verdadeiro.ser honesto e trabalhador foi o legado que nos deixou,e que provavelmente é o que todo pai deixa para nós filhos amados e que amamos nossos filhos também e assim lá se vai a sucessão.DEUS te abençoe e te proteja e a seus filhos e sua família.Beijos.
I have both The Good Master and Reach for the Sky and I read them at least once a year. My parents encouraged me to read also. My dad has been gone 34 years this year, but like you I think of him so often (I was only 30 when he died). Sadly my mother is now a dementia sufferer, and the saddest thing is she has forgotten how to read, how to knit and how to do crossword puzzles, her three favourite passions. I am making sure I make the most of my passions. Judy
What a lovely message Ros - doesn't matter how much time passes, there's not a day goes by that I don't think of my Dad. I didn't inherit his gardening gene, though. Maybe I'll be a late bloomer.
I too think of my dad every day. I was only 9 when he passed and every day for the last 30 years I think of him. They never leave us which is comforting xxx
Thank you very much for pointing out this book to us. Living in Germany I am always happy to learn about interesting new literature. I just read about it on amazon and the reviews as well as yours make this book so interesting that I will buy it directly. Thanks again!
What a lovely gift your father gave you. Funnily enough, my father gave me the same gift, but in a totally different way. He is not a reader at all, and would not allow us to read any fiction. There was only one "story" book in our house, so the first full size, novel style book I read was also "Reach for the Sky". I was a bit rebellious, so I read whenever and whatever I could. I still have that original book, and became an avid reader, amassing hundreds of books. My dad even built a wall of bookcases for me for my 16th birthday. I cannot imagine life without books and reading.
É...PAI...Que lindas lembranças te fazem seguir,e passar ensinamentos,aparentemente tão singelos mas, de uma sabedoria...Para seus filhos que seguirão seus ensinamentos como você de seu saudoso pai.Tenho boas lembranças também do meu...Lá se vão 24 anos sem ele...saudade vem e vai,tristeza eu não tenho,pois foi doença e sofrimento,não sei direito essa gama de sentimentos que as vezes ...Meu pai me disse e para todos os 8 filhos que o único lugar que o sucesso vem antes do trabalho é no dicionário...Singelo e verdadeiro.ser honesto e trabalhador foi o legado que nos deixou,e que provavelmente é o que todo pai deixa para nós filhos amados e que amamos nossos filhos também e assim lá se vai a sucessão.DEUS te abençoe e te proteja e a seus filhos e sua família.Beijos.
ReplyDeleteLovely post! I too think of my parents every day - Dad gone 7 years and 6 for my Mum next week. They never leave us, do they?
ReplyDeleteI have both The Good Master and Reach for the Sky and I read them at least once a year. My parents encouraged me to read also. My dad has been gone 34 years this year, but like you I think of him so often (I was only 30 when he died). Sadly my mother is now a dementia sufferer, and the saddest thing is she has forgotten how to read, how to knit and how to do crossword puzzles, her three favourite passions. I am making sure I make the most of my passions.
ReplyDeleteJudy
What a lovely message Ros - doesn't matter how much time passes, there's not a day goes by that I don't think of my Dad. I didn't inherit his gardening gene, though. Maybe I'll be a late bloomer.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post Bloom. I would be interested to read all of those books, and like you, I think of my dad every day - just 2 years for me.
ReplyDeleteI too think of my dad every day. I was only 9 when he passed and every day for the last 30 years I think of him. They never leave us which is comforting xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for pointing out this book to us. Living in Germany I am always happy to learn about interesting new literature. I just read about it on amazon and the reviews as well as yours make this book so interesting that I will buy it directly. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recommendation, this one sounds very interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely gift your father gave you. Funnily enough, my father gave me the same gift, but in a totally different way. He is not a reader at all, and would not allow us to read any fiction. There was only one "story" book in our house, so the first full size, novel style book I read was also "Reach for the Sky". I was a bit rebellious, so I read whenever and whatever I could. I still have that original book, and became an avid reader, amassing hundreds of books. My dad even built a wall of bookcases for me for my 16th birthday. I cannot imagine life without books and reading.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a lovely post regarding your father. I am glad you inherited his love for books. Its a wonderful passion.
ReplyDelete