Sunrise Through Glass

Sunrise, and cabbage trees, taken through a moulded glass vase.

The vase is special.  My mother was in hospital having some invasive tests.  My father took her a bunch of flowers from the garden.  The hospital had only preserving jars for flowers.  Mum asked him to bring a vase from home. He looked about at her many vases and thought it would be a pity if any were lost or broken.  He called into a charity shop and bought an old second-hand one.  It was very scratched inside, but it made a pleasant ding when tapped.  Mum was impressed at his thoughtfulness.

The results of the tests were very bad.  Over the next 18 months Mum was in and out of hospital.  Each time she went in she took the "hospital" vase, and Dad, along with all the other things he did for her, kept it well supplied with flowers.

Just before she died Mum told me that she loved the vase more than all her other fine vases because Dad had bought it for her, and along with the simple bunches of flowers he picked for her, it had come to symbolise his devotion.

Fortunately I was there when Dad decided that the vase had served its purpose and was about to throw it out.