"A child is a flower that grows in the garden of life. Some grow taller, some are different colors and some will change how the view the world. Each one is special. Each one is beautiful. Each one is unique. Each one is to be loved.”
—Dave Hedges
Most of these photos were taken yesterday with the exception of Emmy wearing her pink headband curiously examining the pink
camellia last November, that matched the flowery print pants she was wearing. We love the way our daughter Michelle dresses Emmy. When she or our son-in-law Kyle drop her off for the day, it is like receiving precious cargo, which of course she is. She loves being taken for a stroll around the lake at Rinconada Hills where we live. By the time I took over in the later afternoon watching and being with Emmy, her Nonnie Cecile got her 8500 steps in strolling her around the grounds and needed a much deserved break.
It is cooler now here in Northern California than it was in November, and we have Emmy covered up like the bundle of joy she is in her yellow knitted blanket. We sat by the pond with the waterfalls roaring in the backdrop. We talked with our neighbors. We stopped to pick a camellia, and when we got back to Nonnie and Papa's townhouse, Emmy and I sat in the atrium. I made an offering to the white Buddha statue, laying the camellia on its lap as I had done with her big sister Lyla in the past. She was pretty talkative at this point and I decided to take a video clip of her joyful chatter after which I played Ringo Starr singing: “We all live in a Yellow Submarine…" which she listened to and watched with that calming, joyful signature smile of hers.
Postscript: A Camellia flower symbolizes love, affection, and admiration. Due to its’ beautiful blossom and symmetrical accuracy, it's a symbol of perfection and excellence.