My Christmas cactus, all grown up

My dad was very thoughtful to send me the following email:


Hi Kenny,

The Christmas cactus in the dining room is now blooming. See attached photo.

Dad


The Christmas cactus to which he was referring is, as you can see, almost as big as our dining room table. That's not how big it was when I bought it. In fact, it was about the size of my palm when I bought it.

I remember my parents bringing me and my siblings to a boring plant show at Van Dusen Gardens. Knowing them, they probably brought us on "Open Day", the one day of the year that the gardens were open for free. I remember them letting me buy a plant at the kiddie garden plant sale. I bought two plants: a tomato plant for 10 cents and a cactus for 5 cents. That was in 1987.

My Christmas cactus had three homes: on my desk, in the dining room, and when in full blossom, in the kitchen. I remember taking care of it once in a while, but mostly, it was my mom and grandma who watered it, trimmed it down, and even re-potted it several times. Over the years, the plant has gotten so big that my mom and grandma had to cut off several branches so that it wouldn't collapse.

When my grandma was still alive and was constantly moving between my family's house and those of my uncles, she gave branches of my cactus to my uncles. Today, these branches have become large cactii in their own right.

I'm not the most sentimental person in the world, but that picture really brought a tear to my eye.