Our Pot

My dear friends Wanda and Chris often post about plants and flowers. Just today Wanda captured some images of a cactus and one of the leafs was perfectly shaped as a heart. I am almost sure that Wanda won't mind me "borrowing" her images so I can show it to you here. Well, I take that as a good omen. To start the year in a positive note and a loving outlook towards life and towards the future. God knows we need to remain positive. At the same time the images also sparked a conversation of how good cactus or as we call them "Nopalitos" or "Nopales" taste. Both mi chica and my mom make a really good nopalito salad that with El Perico tostadas can make a meal in itself. But that is entirely another story. Maybe one day I'll convince mi chica to give me a recipe and I'll post it here.

So that brings me to my current tale. Mi chica and I have been married for over 27 years now, I have on occasion been accused of being a rat pack. I hate to throw things away and I have many items in possession that have been with me for a long time, I just can't seem to part ways with some of them.

As newly weds when we used to live in Lincoln Heights in Los Angeles we would drive on San Fernando road towards Glendale and there was a place that sold nothing but pots. Being newly weds we thought we were going to do all these things, you know how many dreams go through your head when you are young, so one day we decided to stop and buy a couple pots so we could plant some flowers.

We bought them took them home and they sat there looking lonely and waiting for them to be used. Shortly after we bought them we moved to my parent's house and the pots came with us. A lot of our possessions were stored in the garage as we only had a room at the house and space was scarce. The pots just sat there looking lonely and waiting for a little plant to go into them.

A little bit over a year later we were able to go into our first house. We moved, made it livable, we tried to decorate it and again we had big dreams for the house and our lives. But the realization that now we had a mortgage, bills, credit card payments, and yes even kids put some of our dreams and things aside. Our pots once again got moved to a corner by the patio fence and just sat there looking lonely and patiently waiting for a plant to make it's home in it.

In the year 1990 we decided to say goodbye to Los Angeles and we moved to Phoenix, Arizona. We sold the house, packed our belongings rented a truck and headed east. In April of 1990 we were residents of Phoenix but it wasn't until three weeks later that we moved into our new home.

We were now the proud owners of a 2800 square foot home, a huge change from are 1200 square foot house in Hacienda Heights. This house had four bedrooms, three restrooms, three living rooms, and a swimming pool. Our back yard was big and we had no problem finding a piece of space to put our pot. Yes, during our move one of our pots broke and I had to throw it away, nine years after we bought it. Our remaining pot was left there against the fence in the backyard withstanding the Arizona heat in the summer and the cold winters too. It sat there looking lonely and ready to have something planted in it.

In the year 2000 we made the move from Phoenix to Avondale, we went from an old house to a brand new never lived in house. We were the first proud owners and again had big dreams for it. Our house has gone from looking like a model home to being a bit trashed by my lovely grand kids. We have made some home improvements to it and the kids destroy them, then we improve it again. It's a never ending game that has no end in sight.

During all this time our pot has been quietly siting by the fence in the patio, looking lonely and waiting to be used.

We are now starting a brand new year. It is now 2009, a little over 27 years since mi chica and I said "I do" and bought the pot.

It is my pleasure and honor to introduce to you my family, blog family, and friends our pot. Yes, two states, 5 houses, and 27 years later Mike our gardener brought a little plant and planted it in the pot. It no longer sits by the corner against the fence but it is now in the center of our patio and he even run a line so that the pot gets water automatically when the sprinkler system goes on.

No, I hate throwing my things away, and I am glad our little pot has made it with us all these years. Now I just have to call Mike and ask him what kind of plant calls our pot home. I was so excited when he showed it to me that I didn't ask him.


No longer against a fence or abandoned in a patio corner. Our pot and new little plant sit in the center of our patio.


If I had to find a moral to this story it would be a simple one. Patience is a virtue.