I used to buy a primrose every year in January or February and then plant it in the yard in the spring.
I first began doing this the year my mother died to honor her memory, and then continued doing it after that because it brought me comfort.
After a while, I had quite a beautiful primrose garden going. When we moved to a new house, though, I suddenly had trouble finding primroses that looked good at the time that I wanted them, and slowly my practice died off.
This year, I was just running into Hannaford to grab some groceries quick and there they were. All those pretty little primrose faces looking up at me, waiting for me. A beautiful yellow one came home with me.
This year is also the 25th anniversary of my mother’s death, who died on February 29, 1996. Years back, my brother and I joked about this. He said that she chose February 29th as her day to depart so that we would only have to feel sad once every four years. Sometimes, we think of it as only the fifth anniversary, since she died on a leap day and this will only be the 5th February 29th since 1996 (because, interestingly, there was no leap day in 2000).
For some reason, it only just occurred to me to Iook up one of the meaning of primrose.
Here is the one that is said to be the most common:
Karen Creamer
