The Bromeliad Surprise

There was a message that there was a flower delivery for us in the lobby of our condo. We had no idea what it could be, or who it was from, except that my mom passed away recently. When I went to retrieve it I wasn’t surprised at all that it was from our friends Mike and Ben. I worked with Mike at the Library of  Congress for ten years. What was funny about it is that Mike was from Florida, like me, and he went to Florida State, like me. Towards the end of my work life, we had coffee every morning. He visited with us at our condo on Capitol Hill and we got to know him and his family. When we were driving to Florida last week, Mike was texting us every day asking how we were doing and generally following us on the journey with my mom. So yesterday we received a bromeliad plant from Mike and Ben. The story behind it was even better. They have a bromeliad plant that they call Ben’s mom’s plant because they got it in 2009 when she passed away. So every time it blooms it reminds them of her. So we found a special place for the plant and hope it will last for a very long time. It was such a thoughtful gesture. We are so lucky to know Mike and Ben.