Second Helpings

Ellianna

The April shower has continued relentlessly since we returned from York and even now seems determined to dominate a new month. There is still talk of droughts and water shortages however.

My sis came over last week as we had finally chosen a day to scatter our Dad's ashes. We had previously visited the site and met a lovely young lady called Rachel who kindly showed us around the allotments and agreed to be available to unlock gates when we had settled on a date. We chose the orchard at the allotments where our Dad had spent many happy days in his younger years. Gardening had been his passion in life. We thought a spring day when the young trees were in blossom would be appropriate and so decided on April 25th as it's a significant date for several reasons.

The day dawned and it was pimply sissing down with no hint of a reprieve, but after a lot of dithering we decided to go ahead with our plans regardless. Rachel met us at the gates with her little girl cozily sheltered under cover in her pushchair. We had bought a little thank you gift for Rachel and her baby, but could not remember the child's name.

Rachel informed us it was Ellianna which we remarked was unusual, then she went on to tell us the story behind it. Apparently Rachel has been married for ten years and has suffered several miscarriages. Her last pregnancy revealed after tests that yet again the baby was not alive and she was sent home to prepare to go into hospital. On the way home she offered up a prayer for help and said afterwards she distinctly heard from somewhere the word Ellianna.

Having no clue what it meant she went home to research and discovered it's actually an old Hebrew name meaning 'God has answered.' The following day at the hospital further tests revealed the first results were incorrect and the baby she was carrying was alive. Of course Rachel didn't care one iota if it was a boy or a girl, but swore if she had a daughter she would indeed call her Ellianna. And so it was.

Sis and I were both very touched and comforted by her story and even more so when Rachel offered to come to the orchard with us to say a little prayer as we set Dad free. The rain even eased off a little as we set about our task and at least we knew the ashes would stay put where we intended and not be blown elsewhere. Another sad day for us, but meeting Rachel and hearing her story lifted our spirits somewhat.

The rain continued to hammer down so we decided to take the tram from the allotment into Nottingham and lift spirits of a different kind as a special toast to our Dad. We hope now he will rest in peace and we too may be granted some more peaceful times. I won't hold my breath however.