When I Was A Kid, We Moved Into A House That Had A Huge Lilac Tree Out Front. It Was Mostly Rotten, And

When I was a kid, we moved into a house that had a huge lilac tree out front. It was mostly rotten, and it needed to be taken down before it fell. It took a while, but eventually, it was gone.

Mostly. A couple years later, little lilac babies popped out of the ground in its place. My mom was determined to get rid of them, because she'd planted a beautiful flower garden there, and the lilac trees would overshadow and kill the whole garden. I insisted on saving at least a few saplings. She said fine, but I had to dig them out and put them in pots myself.

So, I did. I spent days digging little lilac bushes out of the ground and putting them into pots. Some couldn't be saved, but some could. When all was said and done, I had five brand-new lilac saplings. Seven or eight years old, and it was my absolute pride and joy.

Three died due to sun scorching, severe drought that no amount of watering could save, and perhaps just being moved from their place in the ground. But two survived, and I was awfully proud of them! I'd go out and talk to them every single day. I watered them by hand and made sure they were fertilized properly. I learned all about their favored environments, and I was determined to make sure they lived.

One of my mom's friends saw what I was doing with the lilacs. She asked if she could have one to put in her backyard, and I agreed on the condition that she take very, very good care of it.

It's now fucking enormous. I'm talking ten feet tall and bursting with beautiful purple flowers every spring. My mom still gets updates each year as they start to bloom, which she forwards to me. And all I can think is, "That's my friend! Thriving some twenty years on, there it is."

The other tree nearly died, too. It lived in a pot for far, far too long. I wanted to plant it somewhere in my parents' yard, but my mom was reluctant. Eventually, we agreed to put it in the far back garden. It grew okay for many years, despite the shade, but in all these years, it's never bloomed.

Last year, the massive tree casting massive shadows over the lilac and the garden cracked in half and fell. It tumbled into the garden, crushing part of the nearby shed and destroying a few plants beneath it.

It missed my lilac by inches.

The clean-up is long done. The rest of the tree has been cut down, and my lilac has full sunlight for the first time in fifteen years. It won't bloom this year, I know. But it's got new shoots up. It's taller than ever. I spent half an hour a few weeks ago praising it for surviving all this time, dreaming about its future and telling it how I believe it'll become the tall beauty it's always been meant to be.

I think next year, I'll see flowers.

annabeth saying zeus will never let percy leave olympus alive and percy replying "I'm done running from monsters" like the line between gods and monsters is completely blurred

I'm GAGGED they GAGGED ME

that one troy interview on tiktok but it’s hermes and also I drew it and now it has subtitles

When Percy looks at annabeth before singing the consensus song at Grover that was the first time he brought her in on a joke. He’s socially aligning himself with her rather than fighting and arguing with her. He wordlessly invites her in on ribbing Grover. THATS the start of something BEAUTIFUL

Clarrise collects parenting books.

Well she actually collects any books on self improvement.

Mr. D. has been gifted a book on “how to fight an alcohol addiction.” When hunters visited camp Artemis received a book titled “aroace myths and heroines.” Apollo wasn’t left out too, and got a collection copy of “Radium Girls.” Hestia got a couple books about food culture in different parts of the world, and Clarrise received a hug, a home made meal and a cup of hot chocolate after delivering every book.

She has a ton of other books stored in her closet, every single one is signed and wrapped by her. She has a book about “How to be an involved parent.” Well to be fair she has like five of those. One for Poseidon, one for Athena, one for Aphrodite, one for Hermes, and one for her own father. Hades has two books ready for him, one on the parenting skills and one about ‘people skills’ titled “How to read and show emotions, and how to praise your loved ones.” She has a book titled “How to love yourself and avoid toxic people” waiting for Hephaestus.

A book named “How to know if you and your partner need a divorce” for Hera, and a book about “Reasons to get a vasectomy” for Zeus, and a book titled “How to know if you’re an overprotective and controlling parent” with a coupon for therapy for Demeter. She wrapped one book with a dried flower bookmark for Persephone named “How to set boundaries, and make compromises.” And also a second book for Apollo, about history of “toxic medicine and how radium girls story affected our medical system.”

Most of them she will never give too the recipients, but its sort of a hobby for her, so she’ll never stop collecting them.

this this this!! this means so much to me, as someone who’s probably seen as boring because do feel like i feel can’t talk about my interests except to a few select individuals

tysm @the-stars-were-his <3

It makes me happy when they listen