My Still Magnolia Sister

 My friend Mailina dropped some stuff by the loft today (she is the only person I have given a key to my place) and left a few treasures from her storage building, remnants of her previous life. To her it was 'old stuff', but to me I see potential for some transformation and function. I have a box of framed photos of family with no surface for display, that is until today. One of Mailina's gifts is a small bookshelf which will be nice for the foyer and famiy photographs.
  She and I spoke last night about how much joy we had painting an old weathered chair at the shelter while listening to Reggae Music. It turned out bright and beautiful, and a very young mother Emma even painted a few patterns on the chair. We had it displayed under an awning with flowers around and in the seat. After we 'graduated' from the shelter it was moved into the central garden that we had reclaimed. We both felt a little wistful regarding that chair that perhaps no one else will appreciate, and yet perhaps they will as many souls move through the place.
   While I lived there, I painted the kitchen and did two murals in the kitchen. Mailina repainted an old metal chandelier. It was an all white steril space, but now the walls above the white wainscoting are a
a cheerful bright yellow. Over the cook prep area I painted the words (carefully chosen by Mailina and I and approved by staff) "For our temporary home we choose to embrace an attitude of gratitude." I painted butterflies (my symbol) and dragonflies (Mailina's symbol) around the words, which were in green chancery script. Before I moved out, the women's advocate asked me to paint the word HOPE above the kitchen sink, so I did that and added a lot of detailed and realistic butterflies around it.
  On the outside Mailina and I resituated a fallen down cement birdbath and frog sculpture. She painted the frog a bright red and I painted several ceramic birds I had made from earthenware clay which we epoxyed to the bird bath. It looked bright and cheery. I also painted the old picnic table pink and then painted every flower from the garden she and I had planted on its top. I did white calligraphy style words from Ladybird Johnson,"where flowers bloom, so does hope".
   I also painted one of the two bathrooms blue and the other pink (all with mostly donated paint).
I was trying to make the place more lovely for my Sarah and it gre into for everyone who might come through the place. Several of the necomers who arrived afterwards remarked that it felt like the house hugged them when they entered and that instantly made Lina and I smile...success.
   I miss the staff, the security, and some of the quality bonding with the real freinds I made while there. I do not miss the drama that also often was part of life in the shelter. I certainly don't miss the curfews, bedtimes, and rules. But, I will remain forever grateful for the guidance and safety provided to me under the shelter's staff. It was amazing really.
  Lina and I talked about Still Magnolias as symbolizing survivors who are strong and still beautiful on the inside despite what our abusers had said of us. It also relates to our constantly having to "be still and know"
  My favorite quote from Lina's Father: "Speak the truth and speak it ever, cause it what it will. He who seeks to hide the truthm does the wrong thing still." it is nice to be free to speak the truth. It is good that the silence is broken.