Eight years. That’s how long I have held onto a cactus plant that came from my mother’s house. I’m still not sure if it is a Christmas cactus, Thanksgiving cactus or something else.

All I know is that for eight years I had watered and tended the plant that remained green but never produced any blooms. It has been exasperating, especially since a larger cactus plant sitting next to it would produce gorgeous red flowers several times each year.

The two plants were sitting side by side in the same window area. They were watered at the same time and left in the dark for the suggested number of hours per night. Still the smaller plant refused to yield any color.

Then I read about how you should transplant cactus plants in the spring after they have bloomed in the fall or winter. Well, no problem. Mine never bloomed.

So I took a chance and gently removed the smaller plant from its old housing and placed it into fresh soil made for cactus plants.

As suggested, I put the plant into a container only slightly larger than its old pot. I watered it and in a bold move, placed the plant in a window on the opposite side of the house.

In just a few weeks, I thought my eyes were deceiving me when tiny, pink buds began to appear on the tips of the plant. Could it be true?

Did I actually save this plant from an untimely demise to the dirt pile outside?

And then it happened. Dainty pink flowers opened their petals. Each day, more and more flowers appeared. Now I have a lovely new plant to enjoy simply because I took a chance on it and never gave up hope.

As Memorial Day approaches, I’m thinking about all the young men and women who fought and died for this country — never giving up on the mission placed in their hands. Having never been in the military, I can’t comprehend what they must have faced while fighting our enemies and then never coming home.

I only know that it is fitting to honor and remember those heroes on Memorial Day and never forget the sacrifices they and their families made to give us the freedoms we have today. If for even just one day, can we leave our political differences aside and remember how we got here? I hope so.

Have a safe holiday weekend and enjoy what we have been given.

Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.