The Star of Christmas

I started something last Christmas when I showed a star of Christmas from my garden in Bellbowrie, Queensland, and surprisingly – I discovered  yet another star recently.  Like the previous bromeliad flower, I called this bloom a “star” because of its aesthetic features and perfect arrival, just before Christmas. This pineapple species reminded me of christmas lights. And, as bromeliads often do, it sat there flowerless for years and one day,  it put out a fascinating flower.

This bromeliad has been growing for over three years, and I had no idea what its flower would look like. This star of Christmas is for you too, whether you are a Christian and celebrating this time of the year or not, it is a thank you from me to you for supporting and being part of the Tribalmystic blog family.

This Christmas is a special time for my sons and I. It is the first time since we moved to Brisbane that we enjoy the season  with my 74-year-old mother,  visiting from Papua New Guinea.  While we celebrate the meaning of Christmas as christians, it is also a time we enjoy the love we share as a family. I am grateful to have had six months with my mother after a long time of separation. My mother moved away and eventually re-married when I was about nine and I grew up with my grandmother. We spent time in between the years that have flown by, but briefly and always with other members of our family. Despite this time apart, we still do a lot of things that we can together, such as, her composing her songs and singing them to me over the phone or sending me a bag she made with new designs.

My mother and I share similar interests,  so in Bellbowrie, we have spent a lot of time in the garden planting, making art, telling stories and making music.  We talk. There have been many, many stories. Sometimes she plays her flute or we sing and other times we enjoy the birds and the plants.

And, it is from the garden that the star of Christmas bromeliad came from. My mother has not seen bromeliads before she arrived in Brisbane so she now understands that they look like the pineapple plant and her daughter is obsessed with the plant.

I wish all my readers, friends and family members, a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2017. I hope that you find what you love and enjoy your life as much as you can. Life is full of surprises, sometimes not all good ones. But, the good ones are hard to forget and they are the ones to hold onto.

Personally, while it had been a tough career year for me, I have had a few wins in other parts of my life and people I have met or worked with. As a parent I was moved by the number of friends and family members that came to celebrate and gave so much for two milestones in our family – Chris’ 18th and Nathan’s 21st birthdays. Nathan moved out from home and graduated with a Science Degree, and that is a big win for me. Being a family and having love is the most important thing for me. As I often say on this blog, nothing beats love and I wish you all the same for this festive period and beyond.