A Gift That Meant More Than Expected
Next week, I'm starting a new chapter. I'm starting a new role, in a new team and a new environment that fits how I work. As part of the onboarding, I was sent a welcome pack that included a small pot for growing mint. It was a simple gesture, but it carried a lot of weight for me.
Mint has always been linked to someone I lost many years ago. His name was Will. He was sharp, thoughtful, and quietly funny in a way that makes an impression on you. He loved plants and felt a real connection to nature and his dream was to work at Kew Gardens.
After he passed, his friends gathered the funds to create a bench in his memory at Kew. Every year on his anniversary, I go there to sit on his bench, in the quiet. It's become something of a ritual that I find very grounding, because it's not dramatic, or upsetting, it's just something I do to take a breath and acknowledge someone who mattered to me.
Seeing the mint seeds in my welcome pack felt like a lot more than a coincidence; it felt more like a connection. We often forget important memories until something makes us notice them, and for me, it was this mint pot.
Will's MINT Playlist
After Will died, a few of us made Will's MINT Playlist. It was never debated, everyone who loved him contributed songs we knew he adored. Some of the songs were played at the gathering after his funeral, and others just reflect his personality, his sense of humour and his energy.
The playlist is a lot more than just music, it's a record of who Will was and how he lived, shared and shaped by the many people who loved (and still love) him.
A Tribute in Music
Years ago, a band called Candy Apple Blue invited listeners to submit photos of loved ones they had lost, for a video to their song Not A Day Goes By. I sent in a picture of Will. Seeing him included in the video felt like a meaningful tribute that I could share far beyond our immediate circle. It was understated, but it felt right.
You can find more of their music on Spotify.
A Moment That Connected Past and Present
When I opened my welcome pack and saw the mint pot, it brought all these moments together: the bench at Kew, the playlist, the tribute video, and all the people who helped shape those memories.
It made me think that new beginnings don't have to replace what came before, sometimes they sit alongside your past.
Taking on this new role feels like the right move: it's more technical, more structured, and better aligned with what I do best. This small gesture also made it feel personal in a way I hadn't expected.
We carry the people we love with us, in habits, in music, in places we go, and in subtle reminders that appear when we least expect them. Mint, in its simplicity, has tied together part of my past with where I am heading next.
My story is turning to its new page.