Wisdom from my 97-year-old mum on gardening and cats
<p><em><strong>Robyn Lee is in her 70s and lives with two lovable but naughty cats. She has published a book on seniors behaving badly, entitled Old Age and Villainy, and considers herself an expert on the subject. </strong></em></p>
<p>The Matriarch (TM) is a very positive woman and always has been. If any of us have problems, her favourite comment is always “when one door closes, another opens,” or, “count your blessings, it could be worse.” Sometimes it wouldn’t be received very well by the person to whom it was directed. But TM could always see the bright side of things and she was usually right.</p>
<p>Although there was one occasion when it wasn’t appreciated at all. I can’t recall the incident, but TM told me about it later and said, “well, my intentions were good”, then added, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions… although I’m not sure what that means!”</p>
<p>She was one to count her blessings though and delighted in the small things in life. She derived enormous pleasure from her garden when the tenderness she’d lavished on a sickly plant rewarded her care with brilliant blooms. Her excitement knew no bounds when seeds or bulbs she had planted first peeped through their covering of soil. I would call in for coffee and she would say, “come and see my beautiful gladdies” (gladiolus), or “my frangipani is finally flowering!” and joyfully show me whatever else in her beautiful garden that may have caused her delight. Then we would come back inside to cold coffee…</p>
<p>When I first arrived in Australia, because of the different climate, I didn’t have much success with growing houseplants. The exotic houseplants I grew so well in New Zealand didn’t survive when I tried to grow them indoors here because they were used to the strong sunlight and dry conditions and didn’t like being housebound. I had to learn a whole new way of growing things.</p>
<p>TM was in Australia visiting me one time. By then I’d got the trick of growing plants successfully, so much so that my patio looked like a rainforest. However, I was struggling with a staghorn which didn’t look very well at all. TM caught sight of it. “Oh, the poor thing,” she murmured sadly. I felt as if I’d kicked a puppy… However, during her stay she nurtured it and suggested a better place for the plant. I had that staghorn for years along with all the other pot plants. I eventually gave them to my daughter when I downsized some years ago and they’ve matured into beautiful specimens in the mini rainforest on her property. TM was very happy to see them thriving, especially the staghorn.</p>
<p>TM also loved animals and nature in all shapes and forms, but she has a special place in her heart for cats. In fact, our whole family, including the extended tribe, loves cats. You can’t visit anyone without a moggy mooching around the place or jumping onto your lap. </p>
<p>When Father was alive, he and TM had a beautiful smoky grey longhaired cat to whom they gave the very original name of “Tom”. He was a fiend of a cat though. He had the sweetest looking face and would walk towards an unsuspecting visitor, plumy tail held high and waving gently. The hapless visitor would bend to stroke him and he’d immediately swipe at them with an enormous paw or sink his fangs into their hand. Yet, with people he knew, he was surprisingly gentle. </p>
<p>TM hated taking him to the vet and Tom hated the vet. According to TM, he’d yowl at full voice and spray everything and anyone who came near him. </p>
<p>“He’s so awful,” said TM, embarrassed at the way her errant pet had behaved. “The poor vet has to wear leather gloves to prevent being scratched to ribbons. Believe me, if Tom didn’t injure himself or need vaccinating, we’d never go near the vet!”</p>
<p>Father always said TM could speak “cat”. I heard the proof for myself one day. Tom had this tiny little “mew” (except when he was screeching at the vet), and I could hear him carrying on and on. I went to investigate and found TM and her cat eyeball to eyeball having a conversation. Tom would mew then TM would mew back, so it went back and forth. I stood there watching this in amazement then laughed, it looked and sounded so funny. TM wasn’t the slightest bit perturbed and told me Tom had been telling her about his day. </p>
<p>Right… Another time, I wondered who TM was talking to. I heard, “What’s the matter, Tom?”. A mew. “Are you feeling pale?” Another, pathetic little mew. “Would you like some din-dins?” And so on.</p>
<p>We’re inclined to treat our cats as surrogate children and TM was worse than all of us put together. During our phone conversations, she always asks after “the girls”. Not my daughters, but my cats!</p>
<p>As this is the last story on TM, she joins me in wishing you all a very happy Christmas, a wonderful 2018 and asked me to thank you for the lovely comments you’ve left during the year. Merry Christmas, everyone!</p>
<p><em>This is the last piece in Robyn’s series on her 97-year-old mother (aka The Matriarch). Read part one <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/04/robyn-lee-on-her-97-year-old-mother/" target="_blank">here</a></strong></span>, part two <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/05/robyn-lee-on-the-matriarch-receives-a-pacemaker/" target="_blank">here</a></strong></span>, part three <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/06/most-shocking-things-my-mum-said/" target="_blank">here</a></strong></span>, part four <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/07/the-moments-my-97-year-old-mother-stunned-us-all/" target="_blank">here</a></strong></span>, part five <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/08/robyn-lee-the-matriarch-outrageous-parties/" target="_blank">here</a></span>,</strong> part six <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/09/robyn-lee-matriarch-learns-valuable-life-lesson/" target="_blank">here</a> </strong></span>and part seven <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/10/robyn-lee-the-matriarch-writes-a-letter/" target="_blank">here</a></strong></span>.</em></p>
