Unforgivable
Before the pandemic (life and death’s crazy turn), a neighbor gave me two houseplants, protecting her new kittens from their toxicity. I have an extremely short list of plants I’ve killed (orchids), but these two look like toast. Should I tell her? If she asks I won’t lie, but it’s an ethical dilemma (it pains me to look at them). She trusted I would keep them beautiful and I have failed her (“not too much water”, she said, and that was the beginning of my confusion (as with the orchids. Plural, I tried more than once).
How much is enough? So I held back, unsure, lacking my usual confidence in intuition, and failed them. There are lessons here. If I’d just watered on instinct, instead of worrying about her proscription, we may have found the proper balance. How much water do you need? Too much or not enough are equally unforgivable.
LBM 9/6/2020
