A series of essays….
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‘JACKIE JASMINE’ WATCHED OVER BY AN ANGEL |
….as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
Once upon a time, a dear lady, fellow writer (she has published three books), and friend lived near us in a small subdivision located a few miles southeast of downtown Orlando, Florida. Now, this person was and is very special, not only to me, but to everyone who knows her. She has a way of making you feel important and loved. Just ask the many students whom she has taught as first graders throughout her long history as educator, mentor, and friend within the Orlando Public School System.
It was our good fortune to have built a home directly across the street from Janice and her husband, Bill, at approximately the same time. Dan and I were slightly ahead of them (a matter of, maybe, four weeks) and the style of their home was the same as what we’d chosen out of the five or six models we had to pick from according to the builder’s architectural designs.
The year was 1999. We closed on our house in September of that year and Janice and Bill closed on theirs soon afterward. Christmas was exceptionally exciting for us because it meant that Dan and I could, finally, secure our stored possessions following two years of visitation rights within their climate controlled storage cubical located on Semoran Blvd..
Not long after the first of the year, 2000, most of our moving dust had settled and the world, as we knew it, failed to come to an end over the hyped-up fears of the Millennium Bug, Y2K, when all computers would be utilizing incorrect data and Armageddon seemed to be a foregone conclusion. How naive we were (are). Did we not understand that this was the beginning of the latest rash of conspiracy theories that would, eventually, consume all of us, one way or another, in the years to follow?
We survived. Life went on. One day, after emptying what I hoped would be the final moving box, I went out to the mailbox at the end of the drive and formally met Janice. Introductions behind us, we must have stood at the end of our driveways talking away under the Florida sun for, at least, an hour. I think we both understood by this time that our lives would be intertwined from that moment on.
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HELLO BEAUTIFUL! CERTAINLY GLAD TO KNOW YOU. |
Janice is a feminist and published author who uses her writing forum to help inform women of the choices they have with regards to staying in or leaving unhealthy relationships. Her two works of fiction are based upon a woman who did decide to leave an abusive relationship and spend a prodigious amount of time running from her abuser, as well as the truth about her marriage. So many women try to second guess their abuser’s motives and convince themselves of either their own guilt or that they misunderstood the abuser’s intentions altogether.
Several months after our friendship grew and we had a few luncheon outings under our belts, Janice and I sat in my family room sipping a cool drink and singing the praises of strong women. I think that’s when the uncomplicated salutation “Hey, Beautiful!” initially came into play. “After all,” she said, “as women, we are all Beautiful in our own right.” From that moment on it has always been “Hello, Beautiful,” or “Hey, Beautiful,” or “How are you, Beautiful?” followed by the warmest hug — the kind you never want to end because you know that your own strength is being charged by the strength found within one another.
One weekend, after a trip to our favorite nursery, Lucas Nursery in Oviedo, I brought home what I would lovingly call a jasmine twig right out of a Charley Brown made for television movie. I potted it, along with great hopes and aspirations of survival, in a French urn and placed it along the backyard fence. Every season (Yes, we have seasons in Florida!) my little jasmine hung in there, but often wore less leaves than she began with. One season she sprouted several inches and her coat of leaves multiplied. That’s when she was transferred to a large blue pot given to me for Mother’s Day. Suddenly, she was luxuriating in a new world of incredible space; she was very happy.
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MY THRIVING JASMINE WAS HAPPY LIVING IN THE BIG BLUE POT |
She was Beautiful! My jasmine was sassy, strong, and thriving. Several times a year she would produce the sweetest testament to her glorious being by producing small, white blossoms that covered her in a sweet, gentle cape, comparable to the queen that she had become. She must have enjoyed her habitat alongside the pool enclosure, close to the house. That’s where she grew for over twelve years and became a proper jasmine tree.
I would often tease Janice when she’d stop over for a chat and say that my Beautiful tree was going to be hers one day after Dan and I move back to Michigan. She stubbornly refused to see any truth in that happening and always laughed the thought away. After nineteen years of neighborly love and support, Janice’s smile waned when she learned of our planned departure. Knowing that our five, Beautiful grandchildren resided at the other side of our journey, she knew it was a wise decision, but didn’t like losing us as neighbors after so many years.
My conversation went something like this, “Hello, Beautiful! My tree needs a good home. I wouldn’t trust her with anyone else but you….”
Through tears of sadness because of our move and tears of laughter watching Dan and Bill extract my glorious tree from her home in the large, blue pot and carry her across the street together, Janice and I watched as she made it to her new home. Bill had dug a large hole right smack in the middle of their backyard. The guys gently placed her down into its dark depths, filled in the space around her roots, and tamped down the soil around her base. She looked happy but I had no idea if she would continue to thrive after such a major change in her life.
The only thing I asked of Janice was if she would send me a picture of the Beautiful jasmine tree every now and then. She agreed. Last week my phone dinged indicating a new text message that read, “Hey Beautiful! Hope all is well, and it’s finally warm up there! 🤞🏾 Jackie Jasmine is in full bloom! 👏🏾🙂”
Did I mention that she lovingly named the jasmine tree after me? Thank you, Beautiful, for letting her spread her wings and do what she has to do in order to survive and thrive.
Author’s Note: Janice Cummings is an inspirational author, has written poetry, songs, and short stories. Love on the Run and A Love Proclaimed are her first two novels from the acclaimed High-Top Sneaker Series. You can find Janice at
high-topsneakers.com.
Courtesy of Bill Crooms
Copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
