Christmas spirit continues to grow

“Audrey’s grown another inch,” said my wife as I wandered through the kitchen.

I gave a glance to my left and realized she was right.

Audrey is not a new grandchild.

She’s not a new pet.

She’s a houseplant.

And she’s named for the carnivorous star of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Based upon her growth rate, the name seemed appropriate.

For the past several years, we’ve traded Christmas presents with our dear friend Andy Lippman in California.

Andy was bureau chief in Indianapolis for The Associated Press when our kids were little. We bonded then, and we’ve stayed in touch ever since.

A few years back we built a vacation trip to California around a visit to Andy and some other good friends.

You should know a few things about Andy. (I’ve written about him before, so if you remember that stuff, feel free to skip a few paragraphs.)

First off, Andy is dealing with a brutal case of rheumatoid arthritis, the kind that can knock him unconscious with flares of pain.

But more importantly, he hasn’t let that stop him.

Sure, he retired a little early from The AP. But he has continued an active life as a volunteer. Among other things, he teaches citizenship classes to those who want to become part of the American Dream. He’s well into double digits when it comes to the number of New Americans he has helped shape and guide.

In other words, a great guy, the kind you’re proud to know.

So when the holidays roll around, we want to do something special.

Last year and this year, that has involved sending him a miniature Christmas tree, a fir tree decorated for the season.

That may be a little unusual.

Why? Because Andy’s Jewish.

He loves the holiday season and marks Hannukah with joy and solemnity. But he also loves the Christmas season for its traditions, its warmth and its music.

So while his 90-some-year-old father may object to the notion, Andy welcomes a Christmas tree into his home in South Pasadena.

Our gift this year was purchased through the Blackford Center of Arts Place, helping out a fundraiser on their behalf. It was a tad bit late in arriving, but Andy tells us it’s a beauty.

At our end, there’s Audrey.

We received a pot with a bunch of mossy stuff and a number of buried bulbs.

When the bulbs bloom, there should be an amaryllis, a tulip or two and some daffodils in the pot.

It sounds lovely, but it requires sunshine, and everyone knows that sunshine is in short supply in Indiana in December.

That’s why Connie bought a grow-light.

And under its magenta glow, the bulbs are flourishing.

The amaryllis was coming up when the pot arrived, and it has been growing at a “Little Shop of Horrors” rate ever since.

The grow-light is a little weird, especially late at night and early in the morning. I keep waiting for a neighbor who happens to be a police investigator to ask whether we’re now nurturing a pot plant in our kitchen.

But it’s working.

I sent Andy a picture the other night: Potted plant in a vintage high chair in our kitchen with a magenta glow all around it from the grow-light.

His take? “That’s what happens when you water a plant with cabernet.”

At this rate, we should have spring flowers blooming on the kitchen table by Christmas Day. And Andy will have a small fir tree decorated for the holiday in his house in California.

That, from here, seems like a pretty good outcome all around.

As the late Kurt Vonnegut might say, “And so it grows.”