#3 The Prized Possession & The Pipal Leaf

 The Prized Possession

There is one thing that Mother Lore has, that I would say, is her most prized possession. At least 3 times a week she shows up , standing in the doorway of the kitchen, with it in her hands and asks "Have you seen
this?"
 It's a framed picture. A picture of herself with her son. She keeps it on her bedside table.

 The picture was taken in Houston Temple Room during a Vyasa Puja celebration for Tamal Krsna Maharaja. He is standing and giving something to Mother Lore, who is seated. They are looking at each other with a wonderful loving exchange.

I always stop what I'm doing to pay attention and admire it and tell her she's so lucky to have such a wonderful picture of herself and her son.

The Pipal Leaf

The other day Lore and I went for a "walk." She has a wheelchair and I walk and push. 

The first time I set it up for her to use, I was bit apprehensive about what her reaction would be. Was it too "dependent" looking? Would she refuse to get in? When we went out , I had "IT" set up at the bottom of the stair. I held my breath and she said "What's that?" I said, "That's for you." ( simple answer) and she  said , "Oh , how nice." She got in and we haven't looked back since.  "IT" has been wonderful.

Every time we go for a walk she says "I'm sorry that you have to push me." I ask if she would rather I carried her and she laughs. Then she volunteers to push and I ride.

The other afternoon, we went for a walk  to the temple. First, we went around the
Tulasi House 3x and I chanted Vrndayai Tulasi Devyai....then we rolled over to the sitting places in front of Gauranga Hall and watched the birds for awhile. After some time, I went to the pipal tree and picked a leaf for her.  I told her a story I had heard while in Vrndavana.... when little boy Krsna saw that leaf, He questioned His father Nanda Maharaja, 'Da Da , Why does that leaf have a beard?" Thinking that the pointy end of the leaf looked like a  man's beard. 

When we went back to our house, she still had the leaf. 

That evening , as she was getting ready for bed, I saw that she had laid the leaf lovingly in front of the picture of herself and her son....her prized possession.