“ support and solidarity would be life-changing for us, but society doesn’t want women to have that kind of power.” I may not remember that correctly, but it’s a very powerful statement cosign with you on that one..
Thank you for sharing this deep vulnerable truth of your experience when your children were young.
I have a similar situation and I too do not wish to go back to the sleepless toddler years But sometimes I dread that the nest is not going to empty anytime soon. My twins are 27 with extensive disabilities from a negligent birth.
I look forward to reading from you and Glad. I came across you.
How lovely, the elderflower cordial! While I love the idea of herbal medicines I have only two in my kitchen: nettle tea and elderberry syrup (also Sambucus nigra, which is also native to North America). These are commercial preparations rather than your more directly experienced, hand-foraged and homemade versions, but they are happily available to those who would otherwise have no access. Thank you for this essay, Ali.
P.S. It is difficult to believe the nonsense that some people have projected onto the natural world over the centuries, isn't it?
I was late to this wonderful article as my youngest son aged 20 has just left home!!!!! I was feeling bereft by the absence of his physical presence. Your explanation that your child is always with you is just beautiful. Thank you. I always tell my children that there is an unbreakable silver thread connecting us that stretches around the whole world.
The elderflower info was fantastic too. Thank you Ali. 💚💚💚
No way, Deirdre... you have a youngest son aged 20 who just left home too? Bereft is a wonderful word, that actually sounds as broken as the feeling it describes. Well, I can honestly understand how you feel. My boy has been gone 2 weeks now, but he's coming home tomorrow... not to see us, but to go to a friend's party! 😂 And then he's off again. I guess our homes and hearts will always be open. But my goodness, it's seemed the longest 2 weeks, may as well have been 2 years! I love the idea of the unbreakable silver thread that connects us, beautiful symbolism! 💕 Thinking of you as you go through this transition, Deirdre, this physical life is never easy, is it? 😘
Ali we need to meet up!! 😂❤️ Yes my lovely PJ (Patrick-Joseph) left a few weeks ago to pursue amazing adventures. He’s home this weekend - to meet up with his friends!! 😂 So, we’ve both obviously done a good job with our sons at making them feel secure and loved so that they just KNOW our love is unconditional. We don’t want our children to feel guilty or feel obligated to come home! The physical hole left by their presence is for us mothers to hold on to. Our boys are flying away happily precisely because they know they are adored. You’ve done a good job 🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️
Thank you, and so have you! 😍 whereabouts are you? One of the things I always wanted to do when I started H A G was an actual in person meetup at Loughcrew, home of the Cailleach, but it became clear that that would be too difficult, so many readers live outside Ireland, or it's too far to travel. But meeting up somewhere central for both of us could be more doable?
Dear Ali, you have a knack of expressing how I feel too just at that moment! My eldest son has been staying with us in Cyprus, having giving up his home, job and country to be with his girlfriend. Because of all the political shenanigans in the world, they couldn't meet in the UK as she was denied a visa. So both moved to Cyprus and now they have taken off to start a new life together in Dubai. I was devastated when he left as I found the time to get to know him again after all our time apart.
You write so beautifully of a mother's love and the story of the foetus leaving a part of themselves within the mother's body is just so amazing. No wonder we never really let them go!
And your elderflower stories brought to life, once more, the need to be back in greener pastures.....
Thank you for stirring such a range of emotions within me through your writing!
Ah... you're very welcome, Ingrid! I'm so sorry your son is moving on and you feel you are losing him a second time. Isn't it awful that we live in a world where our young people are forced to do that just to build a life for themselves? And here we share another connection; my eldest claims there is no life to be had for young people in Ireland, jobs pay so little and houses are too expensive to rent or buy. He also plans to move to Dubai in the next two years. Unlike my youngest, he has done his research and costed everything, so I know this is not a whim. Perhaps my son will get to know your son in Dubai in the future, who knows? I feel these partings like ruptures, like pain or grief, and the joy of this physical life seems swirled with grief. I suspect the fragmentation of family is like our severing from the land, a trauma that never leaves us but only grows stronger with time. I think humans evolved in family groups, and modern living has changed all that, and so we suffer. At least we are fortunate in the digital age that we don't have to lose touch with our loved ones who travel, and that we have planes that can bring us together at regular intervals. Sending much love and support to you, Ingrid. Hug your son as much as you can before he goes, and think of the gift of his cells in your body healing you from the physical and emotional scars of severance. 😘
Kelly, it's so hard letting go, isn't it? My eldest is starting his final year of college in September in Dublin, and although I miss him when he's away, he's sensible, and I know he'll be ok. . My youngest rushes into things, he's stubborn and headstrong, but also vulnerable, he's the one I worry about. Having been through uni so recently myself, I realise that the college environment is a fairly safe space for young people to develop into independent adults. Of course they're going to experiment just as they would if they were still at home, but they still have a layer of protection at college they wouldn't have if they were going straight out into the big wide world. That's what I wanted for my youngest, what he needed, but now he doesn't have that. Your eldest does though, I hope that reassures you a little. It will be so exciting for them, they will have no idea how their mothers hearts are breaking! It is a big change for everyone, your other boys who are still at home too. Hugs to you! And solidarity! 💕
Funny Ali, your youngest sounds very similar to my youngest... he reminds me very much of myself at that age! And I agree, uni will be a great transitional space, that layer of protection that you talk about while still taking responsibility for themselves. Have to say, as much as I will miss all 3 of my lads when they all move out, which is only 4 years away now for them all to be on their way, I am beginning to taste the freedom of it too, the spaciousness... And indeed, hugs and solidarity to you xo
Silver linings to every situation in life, if you know to look for them. 💕 I think this about my life with Carys, she will never leave home, she will need round the clock care all her life. The enormity of that when it hit me was devastating, but she has freed me in so many other ways, including my showing up here on Substack... I would never have taken writing seriously if it weren't for her. Life takes unexpected twists and turns, we should embrace it all, but being human, it's not always easy for us to do.
Wow Ali I could see the exact same thing. I still feel the enormity and this is also what has propelled me to write and given me so many stories as well as incredible, deep, everlasting joy one of my twins can’t do a damn thing for herself, but she is a giggle machine. A contagious one.
'In search of the silver lining' is the tagline on the blog I used to write on Ali so I get you completely. Carys means love, doesn't it? How beautiful that your experiencing of mothering with all of its challenges has brought freedom in so many ways. That is precious. x
Great name for a blog, Kelly, I can see a book in it. It's like turning everything upside down to find the good in it, and the positivity, like gratitude, can be life changing. 💕
Ali, I love everything about this piece! How so very sadly familiar that a plant named elder was vilified by the Church! But the bit about your mothering journey and mother-carers being meticulously isolated, this bit went straight to my heart. Thank you 💛 (PS I just finished reading the excellent Care and Capitalism, by Irish academic Kathleen Lynch, which you might find interesting.)
Hi Annette, I know, stooping so low as to target a tree! But it wasn't the tree they were getting at, of course, it was the women who knew and made use of its powers. Thanks so much for the book rec, it sounds right up my tree, so to speak, loool! 😂😂😂 Gonna check it out right now! 💕
By the way, I also have a child, now a teenager, who learns by doing and experiencing, and ignores all advice. And I love the idea that cells from my first child, born by c section, might have helped heal the scar. Thank you Ali 💛
Were you a wilful teen when you were that age? Looking back, I think I was, and they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so I guess it's my fault, he takes after me! 😂
I'm just realising there seem to be quite a few expressions/ wisdoms/ old wives tales based on trees. 🌳🌳🌳
Hi Colin, great to see you here, it's been a long time! Hope all is well with you and yours. Yes, I have unexpectedly found a new love, but I realised recently that I am hankering for a bit of archaeology and myth, so you will see a return to that very, very soon, I promise! Thanks for sticking with me so patiently all this time! 💕
I love coming along on your journey, dear Ali! I love your willingness to be vulnerable in your writing for all to see. It's such an inspiration that, in my last 3 newsletters to clients, I've done the same thing. I had been afraid that my clients would see me a flawed and lose respect for me. But, as best I can tell, they like it, and I'm getting more comments. The love you have for each of your children is achingly beautiful, and I love that you share it. You are such a treasure in so many ways.
You really are the kindest person I know, thank you for your support, Robin, it means so much. 💕 I have really enjoyed your newsletters, and far from exposing your flaws, I think it portrays you as stronger, because you show that you recognise your 'flaws' and find a way to overcome them. I think it demonstrates your personal awareness and resourcefulness. Also, it makes you more relatable, and gives people hope, it makes the reader think if it works for her it can work for me too, and I don't need to suffer. The fact you are getting more responses proves that, I think. 💕
Bart has an elder clump in his back yard, and since I'm house sitting for him, I get to have the produce. I missed the elder season blooms as I've been very preoccupied with house repairs and with other pretty intense stuff. But it's okay, because for every clump of flowers that I left, it is being replaced by the bushes producing elderberries for me and the birds. By the end of summer, I will be making large amounts of elderberry syrup for myself and to share with loved ones.
That has to be one of the perks of house sitting! Try not to be impatient with the berries, though... wait until the stalks turn colour too, if you can, then they are fully ripe. I picked too early last year, because the only elder I found was quite far from my house, and I knew I wouldn't get back to it before the birds did. Now I have found a lot of elders only a couple of minutes walk from my house that are absolutely overloaded with flowers, so I can take as many as I want and not be any competition for the birds! I know people round here must think Im a bit weird poking around in the hedges, no one harvests anything around here!!! And there's so much free bounty being offered by nature!
I know. All that free bounty! I even tell them, "Hey, this plantain is great for wound healing." "Hey, all those passionflower leaves are helpful in calming the nerves," "Wait, grab those mesquite beans before they hit the ground and make a yummy jelly with them." But no, most just want their healing stuff out of bottle, and their jam and jelly out of a store-bought jar. Ah, well, as we say here in Austin, TX, different strokes for different folks.
We've been conditioned to believe that only chemicals can help us... because that makes big profit for big pharma! They don't want people healing themselves for free from weeds! I believe they have probably conducted research and suppressed what they've learned.
Also, people like convenience. While just collecting and drying for tea works for some "weeds" such as passionflower, plantain needs to be dried and then soaked in oil for some weeks and then strained and bottled. It's considered too long a process for those with overly busy lives.
Well, that is fair enough. All of these things do take time to produce, even when they're not difficult to make. I thought it was popular in US to be bottling and canning? More so than over here, at any rate.
Oh Ali, this is a really beautiful piece of writing and I am grateful for your heartfelt words and wisdom. My eldest will be heading off to university across the water in a few months, so much is changing, but like you I have just enjoyed each chapter with my 3 boyos. It has been hard for us too in a lot of ways, but I don't hark back or look too far forward, trying always to remain in the now. I love how you tie in the wise-woman and the elder to all of this. I haven't made elderflower cordial or elderberry syrup for a while but you have inspired me to do it again with the flowers of now and when the berries appear. Happy potion making to you! x
I love all your posts but this one struck home. Raising children is a blessing, which sometimes you don't recognize. My son had ADHD at a time when few schools recognized it. So my husband and I did some research and found local resources to help, then helped train his teachers in what to do. We also found a school where he could attend half-day where the curriculum was structured for kids with ADHD. He did well in school and got into college, but I think the lack of structure there was a barrier to his learning, so he joined the Army and had a successful career. Your children are always your children.
Gosh Noelle, that must have been really tough on you. Great news that the teachers were so willing to work eith you to support his needs, though. I'm happy to hear that he has done so well for himself, serving in the military is not easy. I was in the RAF for a few years, it was a great experience but not really for me. Yes, I always torment my boys by saying they will always be my babies, no matter how old they are! 😆 Seriously, I guess we never stop worrying about them. I just want my boys to be happy in whatever they choose to do in life. Thanks for reading, and sharing your story. Hugs to you! 💕
Ali, your mother-carer writing moved me to tears- so beautiful. And I did not know the history of the Elder and how she's been so maligned. Fascinating! Your writing, as per normal, is just wondrous. Thank you so much xx
Thank you so much, Jane! I really appreciate that. The Elder is such a beautiful unassuming tree, it's hard to imagine it has such a reputation. Every year at this time, when I see the blossoms emerge, I think I must plant some in my garden, but as its not tree planting season till autumn, I can't get hold of any, and come autumn, I've forgotten. This year I will have elderflower cordial and elderberry syrup in my freezer to remind me! 😆
“ support and solidarity would be life-changing for us, but society doesn’t want women to have that kind of power.” I may not remember that correctly, but it’s a very powerful statement cosign with you on that one..
Thank you for sharing this deep vulnerable truth of your experience when your children were young.
I have a similar situation and I too do not wish to go back to the sleepless toddler years But sometimes I dread that the nest is not going to empty anytime soon. My twins are 27 with extensive disabilities from a negligent birth.
I look forward to reading from you and Glad. I came across you.
Good wishes your way !
How lovely, the elderflower cordial! While I love the idea of herbal medicines I have only two in my kitchen: nettle tea and elderberry syrup (also Sambucus nigra, which is also native to North America). These are commercial preparations rather than your more directly experienced, hand-foraged and homemade versions, but they are happily available to those who would otherwise have no access. Thank you for this essay, Ali.
P.S. It is difficult to believe the nonsense that some people have projected onto the natural world over the centuries, isn't it?
I was late to this wonderful article as my youngest son aged 20 has just left home!!!!! I was feeling bereft by the absence of his physical presence. Your explanation that your child is always with you is just beautiful. Thank you. I always tell my children that there is an unbreakable silver thread connecting us that stretches around the whole world.
The elderflower info was fantastic too. Thank you Ali. 💚💚💚
No way, Deirdre... you have a youngest son aged 20 who just left home too? Bereft is a wonderful word, that actually sounds as broken as the feeling it describes. Well, I can honestly understand how you feel. My boy has been gone 2 weeks now, but he's coming home tomorrow... not to see us, but to go to a friend's party! 😂 And then he's off again. I guess our homes and hearts will always be open. But my goodness, it's seemed the longest 2 weeks, may as well have been 2 years! I love the idea of the unbreakable silver thread that connects us, beautiful symbolism! 💕 Thinking of you as you go through this transition, Deirdre, this physical life is never easy, is it? 😘
Ali we need to meet up!! 😂❤️ Yes my lovely PJ (Patrick-Joseph) left a few weeks ago to pursue amazing adventures. He’s home this weekend - to meet up with his friends!! 😂 So, we’ve both obviously done a good job with our sons at making them feel secure and loved so that they just KNOW our love is unconditional. We don’t want our children to feel guilty or feel obligated to come home! The physical hole left by their presence is for us mothers to hold on to. Our boys are flying away happily precisely because they know they are adored. You’ve done a good job 🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️
Thank you, and so have you! 😍 whereabouts are you? One of the things I always wanted to do when I started H A G was an actual in person meetup at Loughcrew, home of the Cailleach, but it became clear that that would be too difficult, so many readers live outside Ireland, or it's too far to travel. But meeting up somewhere central for both of us could be more doable?
I’ll be in Donegal full time from next year when I retire ❤️❤️❤️ At the moment I’m in England. ☘️☘️☘️
Donegal... lovely! Let me know once you're settled... bet you can't wait! 💕
I will!! ☘️🇮🇪❤️
You always express yourself with so much wisdom and depth, Ali. I feel your heart. Thank you!
Thank you, Jennifer! What a lovely thing to say. And thank you for being here. 💕
Dear Ali, you have a knack of expressing how I feel too just at that moment! My eldest son has been staying with us in Cyprus, having giving up his home, job and country to be with his girlfriend. Because of all the political shenanigans in the world, they couldn't meet in the UK as she was denied a visa. So both moved to Cyprus and now they have taken off to start a new life together in Dubai. I was devastated when he left as I found the time to get to know him again after all our time apart.
You write so beautifully of a mother's love and the story of the foetus leaving a part of themselves within the mother's body is just so amazing. No wonder we never really let them go!
And your elderflower stories brought to life, once more, the need to be back in greener pastures.....
Thank you for stirring such a range of emotions within me through your writing!
Ah... you're very welcome, Ingrid! I'm so sorry your son is moving on and you feel you are losing him a second time. Isn't it awful that we live in a world where our young people are forced to do that just to build a life for themselves? And here we share another connection; my eldest claims there is no life to be had for young people in Ireland, jobs pay so little and houses are too expensive to rent or buy. He also plans to move to Dubai in the next two years. Unlike my youngest, he has done his research and costed everything, so I know this is not a whim. Perhaps my son will get to know your son in Dubai in the future, who knows? I feel these partings like ruptures, like pain or grief, and the joy of this physical life seems swirled with grief. I suspect the fragmentation of family is like our severing from the land, a trauma that never leaves us but only grows stronger with time. I think humans evolved in family groups, and modern living has changed all that, and so we suffer. At least we are fortunate in the digital age that we don't have to lose touch with our loved ones who travel, and that we have planes that can bring us together at regular intervals. Sending much love and support to you, Ingrid. Hug your son as much as you can before he goes, and think of the gift of his cells in your body healing you from the physical and emotional scars of severance. 😘
Kelly, it's so hard letting go, isn't it? My eldest is starting his final year of college in September in Dublin, and although I miss him when he's away, he's sensible, and I know he'll be ok. . My youngest rushes into things, he's stubborn and headstrong, but also vulnerable, he's the one I worry about. Having been through uni so recently myself, I realise that the college environment is a fairly safe space for young people to develop into independent adults. Of course they're going to experiment just as they would if they were still at home, but they still have a layer of protection at college they wouldn't have if they were going straight out into the big wide world. That's what I wanted for my youngest, what he needed, but now he doesn't have that. Your eldest does though, I hope that reassures you a little. It will be so exciting for them, they will have no idea how their mothers hearts are breaking! It is a big change for everyone, your other boys who are still at home too. Hugs to you! And solidarity! 💕
Funny Ali, your youngest sounds very similar to my youngest... he reminds me very much of myself at that age! And I agree, uni will be a great transitional space, that layer of protection that you talk about while still taking responsibility for themselves. Have to say, as much as I will miss all 3 of my lads when they all move out, which is only 4 years away now for them all to be on their way, I am beginning to taste the freedom of it too, the spaciousness... And indeed, hugs and solidarity to you xo
Silver linings to every situation in life, if you know to look for them. 💕 I think this about my life with Carys, she will never leave home, she will need round the clock care all her life. The enormity of that when it hit me was devastating, but she has freed me in so many other ways, including my showing up here on Substack... I would never have taken writing seriously if it weren't for her. Life takes unexpected twists and turns, we should embrace it all, but being human, it's not always easy for us to do.
Wow Ali I could see the exact same thing. I still feel the enormity and this is also what has propelled me to write and given me so many stories as well as incredible, deep, everlasting joy one of my twins can’t do a damn thing for herself, but she is a giggle machine. A contagious one.
'In search of the silver lining' is the tagline on the blog I used to write on Ali so I get you completely. Carys means love, doesn't it? How beautiful that your experiencing of mothering with all of its challenges has brought freedom in so many ways. That is precious. x
Great name for a blog, Kelly, I can see a book in it. It's like turning everything upside down to find the good in it, and the positivity, like gratitude, can be life changing. 💕
Ali, I love everything about this piece! How so very sadly familiar that a plant named elder was vilified by the Church! But the bit about your mothering journey and mother-carers being meticulously isolated, this bit went straight to my heart. Thank you 💛 (PS I just finished reading the excellent Care and Capitalism, by Irish academic Kathleen Lynch, which you might find interesting.)
Hi Annette, I know, stooping so low as to target a tree! But it wasn't the tree they were getting at, of course, it was the women who knew and made use of its powers. Thanks so much for the book rec, it sounds right up my tree, so to speak, loool! 😂😂😂 Gonna check it out right now! 💕
By the way, I also have a child, now a teenager, who learns by doing and experiencing, and ignores all advice. And I love the idea that cells from my first child, born by c section, might have helped heal the scar. Thank you Ali 💛
It is a lovely thought, isn't it? 💕
Were you a wilful teen when you were that age? Looking back, I think I was, and they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so I guess it's my fault, he takes after me! 😂
I'm just realising there seem to be quite a few expressions/ wisdoms/ old wives tales based on trees. 🌳🌳🌳
As the eldest of 4, I was very much a people pleaser (still am in some ways), so he must be taking after his dad, as does my daughter! 😂
I'm sure they've got the best bits of both of you! 💕
Hi Ali, hopefully your young man is off on a good journey in life and lives not too far away - like Australia!
Are you still working at the museum and will you write a bit more about myths and legends, please?
All the best
Colin
Hi Colin, great to see you here, it's been a long time! Hope all is well with you and yours. Yes, I have unexpectedly found a new love, but I realised recently that I am hankering for a bit of archaeology and myth, so you will see a return to that very, very soon, I promise! Thanks for sticking with me so patiently all this time! 💕
I love coming along on your journey, dear Ali! I love your willingness to be vulnerable in your writing for all to see. It's such an inspiration that, in my last 3 newsletters to clients, I've done the same thing. I had been afraid that my clients would see me a flawed and lose respect for me. But, as best I can tell, they like it, and I'm getting more comments. The love you have for each of your children is achingly beautiful, and I love that you share it. You are such a treasure in so many ways.
You really are the kindest person I know, thank you for your support, Robin, it means so much. 💕 I have really enjoyed your newsletters, and far from exposing your flaws, I think it portrays you as stronger, because you show that you recognise your 'flaws' and find a way to overcome them. I think it demonstrates your personal awareness and resourcefulness. Also, it makes you more relatable, and gives people hope, it makes the reader think if it works for her it can work for me too, and I don't need to suffer. The fact you are getting more responses proves that, I think. 💕
What a dear thing for you to say, Ali. I appreciate it.
I speak the truth! 😘
Bart has an elder clump in his back yard, and since I'm house sitting for him, I get to have the produce. I missed the elder season blooms as I've been very preoccupied with house repairs and with other pretty intense stuff. But it's okay, because for every clump of flowers that I left, it is being replaced by the bushes producing elderberries for me and the birds. By the end of summer, I will be making large amounts of elderberry syrup for myself and to share with loved ones.
That has to be one of the perks of house sitting! Try not to be impatient with the berries, though... wait until the stalks turn colour too, if you can, then they are fully ripe. I picked too early last year, because the only elder I found was quite far from my house, and I knew I wouldn't get back to it before the birds did. Now I have found a lot of elders only a couple of minutes walk from my house that are absolutely overloaded with flowers, so I can take as many as I want and not be any competition for the birds! I know people round here must think Im a bit weird poking around in the hedges, no one harvests anything around here!!! And there's so much free bounty being offered by nature!
I know. All that free bounty! I even tell them, "Hey, this plantain is great for wound healing." "Hey, all those passionflower leaves are helpful in calming the nerves," "Wait, grab those mesquite beans before they hit the ground and make a yummy jelly with them." But no, most just want their healing stuff out of bottle, and their jam and jelly out of a store-bought jar. Ah, well, as we say here in Austin, TX, different strokes for different folks.
We've been conditioned to believe that only chemicals can help us... because that makes big profit for big pharma! They don't want people healing themselves for free from weeds! I believe they have probably conducted research and suppressed what they've learned.
Also, people like convenience. While just collecting and drying for tea works for some "weeds" such as passionflower, plantain needs to be dried and then soaked in oil for some weeks and then strained and bottled. It's considered too long a process for those with overly busy lives.
Well, that is fair enough. All of these things do take time to produce, even when they're not difficult to make. I thought it was popular in US to be bottling and canning? More so than over here, at any rate.
Oh Ali, this is a really beautiful piece of writing and I am grateful for your heartfelt words and wisdom. My eldest will be heading off to university across the water in a few months, so much is changing, but like you I have just enjoyed each chapter with my 3 boyos. It has been hard for us too in a lot of ways, but I don't hark back or look too far forward, trying always to remain in the now. I love how you tie in the wise-woman and the elder to all of this. I haven't made elderflower cordial or elderberry syrup for a while but you have inspired me to do it again with the flowers of now and when the berries appear. Happy potion making to you! x
I love all your posts but this one struck home. Raising children is a blessing, which sometimes you don't recognize. My son had ADHD at a time when few schools recognized it. So my husband and I did some research and found local resources to help, then helped train his teachers in what to do. We also found a school where he could attend half-day where the curriculum was structured for kids with ADHD. He did well in school and got into college, but I think the lack of structure there was a barrier to his learning, so he joined the Army and had a successful career. Your children are always your children.
Gosh Noelle, that must have been really tough on you. Great news that the teachers were so willing to work eith you to support his needs, though. I'm happy to hear that he has done so well for himself, serving in the military is not easy. I was in the RAF for a few years, it was a great experience but not really for me. Yes, I always torment my boys by saying they will always be my babies, no matter how old they are! 😆 Seriously, I guess we never stop worrying about them. I just want my boys to be happy in whatever they choose to do in life. Thanks for reading, and sharing your story. Hugs to you! 💕
Ali, your mother-carer writing moved me to tears- so beautiful. And I did not know the history of the Elder and how she's been so maligned. Fascinating! Your writing, as per normal, is just wondrous. Thank you so much xx
Thank you so much, Jane! I really appreciate that. The Elder is such a beautiful unassuming tree, it's hard to imagine it has such a reputation. Every year at this time, when I see the blossoms emerge, I think I must plant some in my garden, but as its not tree planting season till autumn, I can't get hold of any, and come autumn, I've forgotten. This year I will have elderflower cordial and elderberry syrup in my freezer to remind me! 😆
Stunning. Thanku fur thiz x
Thank you for reading, and your support, Sarah! 💕