Rugo...

It’s been a while since I’ve written.  My motivation wanes sometimes.  Also, my computer occasionally acts up.  I’m using an ASUS laptop that we bought for Emma in high school. She carried it daily in her backpack, and really beat it up.  When ASUS acts up, the center keys don’t work.  Even if I hit them incessantly, as I do, the N, M, H, Y, and U won’t work.  But today, ASUS and I are both motivated!

We just had our first measurable snow here in Ohio, and I’m already missing the yard.  Of all the plants and trees, I miss Rugo the most.  Rugo is our rose bush.  Yes, we’ve named it.  Before you think I’ve leapt off of the deep end, please hear me out.  This is no ordinary rose bush.  Rugo has been with us for most of our 25 years of marriage.  In fact, the idea of Rugo has been with Sean and me since the beginning of our relationship.

Rugo has lived in a least three different places, in two different states.  His tale begins in Massachusetts…Cape Cod. Soon after our first “date,” Sean and I boarded an America West flight to Boston to spend time with my sister and her husband. 

While there, we spent a few days out on Cape Cod.  We had a great time, whale watching, beach combing, and biking.  Sean and I both noticed the beautiful rose bushes lining the edge of the beaches everywhere.  The roses were a vibrant pink with an intoxicating scent.

Soon after we were married, and in our first home together, we made another trip to Boston.  This time we drove in Sean’s little red Dodge Shadow.  I had done some research on the rose bush, and found it was a variety of Rosa Rugosa.  Because we both loved the plant so much and it reminded us of that special trip, we bought one at a  nursery outside Boston. 

Rugo made it to Ohio safely, and was planted in our yard in Gahanna.  He was small, but he thrived in that yard.  What a joy it was to have those beautiful roses with us all summer!  

A few years later, we purchased our current home.  Rugo was in the listing contract, because we knew he was going with us.  The gardening gods were looking down on us the day we moved!  It was December, but unseasonably warm.  We were able to dig up Rugo easily and plant him in his new home. That first spring would be the test.  Would Rugo survive the winter transplant?  Will he thrive like he did in his previous home?  The answer was a resounding, yes!  Rugo bloomed!  And, 25 years later, he’s still blooming. 

Each year, the scent of Rugo's blooms transports me back to Cape Cod and the happy memories we created there.  It’s not surprising, I guess.  A study by psychologist Silvia Álava called “Smells and Emotions,” showed that people remember 35% of what they smell and only 5% of what they see. Scent is registered in the brain, but it is also registered with an association to an emotion that we are feeling at the moment.

Rugo is huge-o now.  He’s taken over a large chunk of our yard.  He needs little care and grooming.  I never thought a trip souvenir could bring so many years of enjoyment.  If you’re thinking about adding a rose bush, check into a Rugosa Rose!

To read more about the senses, see: 

https://exploringyourmind.com/memories-evoked-five-senses/