#2 Petite Knock Out Roses: A Letter to My Daughters

 Petite Knock Out* image from here. Tiny but tough in the pursuit of beauty.

Dreamy Apricot Drift** roses. On my garden bucket list. And I like the word “drift,” since many of us drift on our journeys.

Dear Carlie and Punch,

It’s been a while since I’ve written you two a letter together. 

I've switched to the blog name Carlie from Figgy. The names evolve as the daughters do. Carlie is one of my top real-life pet names for you, my first baby girl, the once rumpled redhead with the raspy voice and mirthful spirit. (Your middle name is Caroline. So, Carlie.) 

And Punch--well, I was calling you Skipper/Skippy in stories for a while but times are tough for you and I am going back to Punch because you, like a Petite Knock Out* Rose, have to somehow summon up the power to knock out beauty, to bloom through extreme weather, in the face of pests, thorns and nursery diseases* that can kill you, eat away your leaves in a lacy pattern. For now, rather than Skipper (Barbie’s sporty little sister, in a red swimsuit), Punch it is.

We are all only human. We can only do our best with the life unfurling before us, with the tightly wrapped rosebud we are given at birth.

I cannot go into details in this public space. But I can speak softly, and toughly, of a mother’s love. Carlie, so proud of you down on the Florida coast, researching algae and cyanobacteria in a master’s program. So happy for your passions and joys, your brain, your beauty, those sky-blue eyes from my Irish grandfather, your gardening and friendships, your love and kindness as you navigate life’s road as a confident young woman.

Punch, so concerned for you at age 15.  As you know, Carlie had some rough, churning seas in high school, too. I guess a lot of teenagers do. Oh, you have beauty and brains aplenty --that shiny hair, the green eyes, the way you captivate people, your smart mind, capable skills--but you have much to face and much to work through. I love you, we love you, so much. Mr. Danay, Carlie, me and Nina, the sweet kitten you chose--your nuclear family. 

This is just a letter to say how much I love you both at this juncture on life’s path.

Love always, Mima (to Carlie)/Alice (to Punch).

__________________________________________________________________________

*Petite Knock Out® is the first-ever, miniature Knock Out® Rose, offering more versatility than any other member in The Family! This small plant makes a big impact with fire-engine-red blooms and flower power, easy care, and disease resistance true of Knock Out® Roses. Plant in containers or in the garden for season-long blooms. Available at select garden retailers.  

**Double apricot coloured flowers begin flowering in spring and display a season-long show of colour. It is just as tough and disease resistant as others in the Drift® series.

Another Letter to My Daughters here (from five years and two months ago).