Thanksgiving 2004

dear friends and family of zuzus petals...
in the early morning of august 26 i sat down at my computer and sent an email to a small group of people telling them of the fire at the store.

i wrote that i was looking for the lesson.

it is 3 months since that morning and i have learned a great deal...
how to read and understand an insurance policy,
how to design a flowershop out of the debris of an old printshop
how to be a general contractor ...practical stuff.

i also learned how much the store meant to so many people. my loss was communal. the enormous outpouring of love and support sustained and enabled me to re-build. it was literally a mandate...up out of the ashes.

this morning i will take bear to the new shop on 5th avenue. it is full of flowers for thanksgiving. i have a picture in my mind of later today ...families and friends gathered around their tables, heads bowed together before the meal to say some sort of prayer of thanks...and in the center my flowers once again there to grace the moment.

the lesson?.... life can change drastically at any moment, something can be terrible and wonderful at the same time. loss and grief can make you strong,everyday is a lesson.

most of all...what goes around comes around and something like that last line from abby road....the love you take is equal to the love you make.

a prayer of thanks from all the zuzus for all of you who have become part of our family.
and now...let's eat!

fonda