Unexpected Blossoms
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After a longer-than-usual stay away from home, my family and I returned this past Sunday and I was awed as our car neared the house. The quiet two-lane road laid out before me seemed to be bursting at the seems; lined with all sorts of extravagant and lush vegetation. Obviously the sunlight and rain had been pulling double duty since I'd left and their long hours and hard work had made an obvious difference.
Trees that had been barren from the harsh realities of winter are now in full bloom - their limbs hanging, weighed down from their flourishing foliage, and creating a natural arbor over the road. Indigenous flowers are sprouting everywhere creating carpets of blue, as the "bonnets" take their place, dotted with pops of yellow from the daffodils.
Yes indeed, my breath was taken away at how gorgeously green everything was and gratefully, my house hadn't been missed.

These Knock-Out Roses make an appearance a few times a year and every time they do, I'm eternally grateful. Honestly, my gratitude lies not only in their timeless beauty but in their low maintenance lifestyle. Shoot, these babies don't need me at all. They just sit there all year (some months looking a bit lonelier than others) and await the appointed time to spring their colors. They don't need me to water them or give them a second glance all year long. And frankly, that's the kind of relationship I like to have with vegetation.
Awww. . . good ol' roses! I just love them. The sight of them put a smile on my jet- lagged face.
But nothing made me more excited than these little sweeties; not because they are more dazzling than the roses, but just because it's taken an eternity for them to show signs of any life.

These are coral honeysuckles. I've got several of these bushes planted around my house and this is the first time I've ever seen any of them bloom. The guy that planted them told me that they would be very low maintenance (a requirement for me and my "wanna-be" green thumb). When he first put them in, he mentioned that I only needed to water them via the sprinkler twice a day in the heat of summer and once during normal weather just for the first few months until they took root.
It didn't seem like a tall order when I first got them . . . OVER A YEAR AGO.
You heard me right!
This "diva" plant has been watered and tended and gazed upon for nearly a year and half now and not once have they ever sprouted anything remotely resembling a honeysuckle - coral or any other color I might add. I've waited and waited, asked question after question and even playfully charged the yard guy flat-out with giving me duds.
But when I drove up to our house and saw these luscious blossoms, all I could do was point, stare and giggle. These plants weren't duds after all. It just took them a little longer to get situated is all.
Glad I didn't stop watering from the disappointment.
I've decided that, for me, this is going to be a lesson in living during the rest of the year. I should expect "unexpected blossoms" to pop up in the places that I've been investing faithfully and have begun not to expect any benefit from that investment and I should keep on watering when I'm tempted not to anymore.
In a difficult relationship I've been investing alot of emotional energy
In a task I've been pushing hard to complete
In a decision made long ago I've been awaiting the outcome for.
The rose blossoms of your life and mine are gorgeous but sometimes those can't fully be appreciated because they didn't require much of an investment. Nothing wrong with that but they will never "wow" us like the ones that have required our sweat and tears and have possibly disappointed us a bit until now. It's those unexpected blossoms - the ones you've actually stopped anticipating to yield anything worthwhile - that I think we should really lean forward, chin-in-hand, to catch a glimpse of now.
I have a feeling that all your watering and tending is going to pay off any day now.
It just might be the right season for the most gorgeous bloom of your life.
Any "unexpected blossoms" come your way recently?
Priscilla
Priscilla Shirer's Blog
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