mosses monday V

(snowbirds in florida)

george and lucy moss were snowbirds. when the holidays were over, they would head to lauderdale by the sea, florida, to enjoy the sunshine, sand, the ocean, and friends who went there each year since retirement to escape the cold of winter. they were usually gone for three months or so.

though they were away from home and i was away from them, we were never far from each others thoughts.

i remember each week hurrying back to my dorm room to receive either their call or a sweet voice message mrs. moss would have left me on my answering machine - messages i saved, of course:)

"dani, this is mrs. moss," she would start in her gravely, sophisticated voice, "george and i were just calling to check on you. we hope you are having a good day. we love you...  BEEEEEEEEP!"

in the late 1980's, however, the mosses' florida sabbatical took a very different turn. mrs. moss became very ill and was hospitalized. she was symptomatic of having leukemia. they really didn't know what was wrong with her, but her condition continued to deteriorate.
i was so worried about her!

she underwent an extensive series of tests including even a very painful bone marrow draw from her fragile body's breast bone. finally, a specialist discovered  she had a rare vitamin b deficiency...

NOT cancer, thank God!
regardless, mrs. moss had a long recovery ahead of her. she had lost a lot of weight and muscle tone; she was as weak as a dish cloth.

finally, though, they were able to return home so she could continue to recover in the comfort of her home on the court.

the saturday after their return, i called to ask if i could come by for a visit.

"ABSOLUTELY!" was the response i received from mr. moss. 

so, i stopped by our local flower shop and asked that they make me a bouquet of fresh flowers... 10 minutes later, the lady brought me the biggest, most beautiful "bouquet" of cut, spring flowers i'd EVER seen, really!!!

i placed them in the seat next to me and headed toward their home.

i rang the door-bell.
i could barely see over the flowers (they were massive)...
when the door opened, there stood mrs. moss  grinning ear to ear...  her little nose wrinkled.

mr. moss was standing over her shoulder.

"well, bless your heart, dani, come in here," he said as he helped me into their house.

"these are for mrs. moss..." i said as he took the flowers. "there are more here than i thought; i don't know what to tell you to do with them." i giggled and shrugged. 
(they were not going to fit in a vase... maybe an umbrella stand, but NOT a vase;)

"ooohhhh, they are beautiful, dani, you didn't have to bring me anything. i'm just tickled to see you," said mrs. moss.  (when she saw that BUNDLE, she probably never spoke more sincere words as "you didn't have to".)
ha! 
after an hour and a half (or so), 4 LARGE vases full of flowers, and several apologies, we had all the flowers arranged. i felt horrible feeling as if i had brought work to my dear, fragile friend...

she wouldn't hear of the apologies and assured me this kind of "work" was just what the doctor ordered...

for years after, we laughed about that special time we spent talking, cutting stems, and arranging, cutting (more and more) stems and arranging... though i felt bad at the time, i now look at that day as nothing short of a gift from God. 
~@~ 

the sweet "thank you" note i received...



(you may click photos to enlarge)

(to be continued...)

love and blessings,
dani xx

ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)