Today is Nonna’s 76th birthday! What a treasure! I’m looking back on the fun we had with the gardenia flower crown I made this spring.
Within my very first memories, I knew I had a good mom. In every way, she put my brother and I first – literally in front of her too, so she could see us! It was awesome to have such a soul to take care of us. I like to think that it’s our turn to take very good care of her now.
Every single day in this life of hers, she gives everything of herself. And what she has been able to accomplish blows my mind. She’s the sweetest, most loving person I know. No one can love you like Mom! One hug and everything feels better. Her heart has beyond-love.
Mom has endured so much. She shows the world by her example and faith what grace looks like. I’m still eagerly learning from her. It’s so nice to listen to all the special things there is to know about her life.
Just today, our chat lead us both learning something about her life. I asked her how old her mom was when she gave birth to her. Mom was the 7th child my grandmother would give birth to. (Her birth-story is incredible, but I’ll share that another time.) Turns out she was 32 – the same age as my mom was when she gave birth to me! It was a happy discovery.
And we are beyond-blessed that we get to have this precious time together – more than ever before since she finally retired from work this past spring.
This April, just for fun, I made a flower-crown using fresh gardenias (one of my mom’s all-time favorite blooms) and the crown/flower holder that I picked up from Flora Aura Designs when they had a little set up inside Anthropologie a while ago.
Gardenia are so beautiful and fleeting! They smell incredible. They can hardly be handled as the blossom petals are so delicate. I chose them because they are her favorite, and I love seeing her happy.
We set a little stool against the wall in the living room. Mom had no idea what I was up to, but she went first. I asked her to sit down and when I placed the crown onto her head, she lit up!
This is Nonna! She just can’t help but to be totally authentic.
Our puppy Bowie liked the hang-out time too, so he came onto our lap when my daughter and I each had a turn with the flower crown.
This project only took about 30 minutes, and our little “photo session” about five. I’m so happy that we made this nice little memory, with photos of Nonna we’ll have to cherish.
