A Peacefully Purple Wreath

Purple mesh tubing woven into a circular wreath, adorned with orange, white and purple flowers, hangs above our guest bed.

Standing and staring at it, I reminisce. I try to envision Grandma’s hands choosing this specific shade of tubing from the store, weaving it into the perfect wreath shape and carefully placing the flowers on it. I remember her midweek call to say it was finished and ready for pick-up.

She took the time to choose the perfect shade of purple, knowing it is my favorite color.  It warms my heart to know that she cared and loved me so much to not only make this for me, but to ensure she did so in my favorite hue.

However, little did I know that this wreath would soon hang as a memorial to Grandma. Did Grandma know that symbolically the circular shape of a wreath can mean eternal life and that flowers represent life and resurrection?
Combined with the calming purple color, that suggests peace and stability, I often stare at the wreath in wonderment of these small ironies.

Completed several months before her passing, the wreath seems to symbolize how memories of Grandma will live forever in my heart and mind. Perhaps she had a premonition that this wreath would be her last creation for my husband and I. She created it so swiftly at the time, almost knowing her strength and energy were giving out. Maybe she intuitively knew her time was limited and the strength of God guided her to complete a few last tasks that would leave her mark on this Earth.

Whatever mystical intentions or spiritual powers at play, they still will not bring Grandma back. Yet staring up at the purple wreath with the sun shining brilliantly on it through the window, almost making it sparkle, I’m filled with the love of her calming, spiritual presence. During one of the last visits my husband and I had with Grandma, I told her to never lose her spunk and the wreath reminds me that she never did. Creating the color purple means combining the warm stability of blue and the fiery spark of red. The dichotomy of this color combination reminds me of Grandma’s fun-loving personality.

Yet it also breeds further magic and mystery. The purple mesh tubing of this wreath characterizes that while the physicality of life is brief, there is majestic stability above the blue color of our sky. Far, far above our blue skies lies a world that sparkles with energy, life and creative stimulation. It’s a beautiful place, with varying shades of purple cascading about and I know Grandma is there looking down at me. The color purple lives on forever. It’s a color everlasting.