Tag Archives: bloom where you are planted

The Golden Jubilee

My home is telling on me. The past few Friday’s have looked similar where all of the empty cups, mugs and coffee paraphernalia congregated to the kitchen island as if to say, “We served her well today.” The empty water bottle resting in the middle of the massive wood table didn’t make it to the ceremony.

A couple of weeks ago my neighbors wife invited me to have coffee with her and another neighbor down the street. I hadn’t formally met the other neighbor, but the two of them have been friends for many years. With a slight hesitation, I went and it felt like an hours worth of them asking all about me. I didn’t share at an intimate level, but politely answered all of their questions and if you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know I can be a bit much to put it mildly.

Neither woman has spoken to me since.

The scenarios of the mind will begin to swirl and even for myself in past instances I’d begin questioning my behavior during coffee. My daughter would pick on me and say, “You didn’t hide your crazy well enough”, but something shifts in a woman after the age of 55. As we near the age of 60 and beyond, other people’s approval, or opinion of ourselves doesn’t matter. My gosh darling, we’ve been roaming this earth for half a century, so by His grace we must be doing something right!

Trying to find a word, or phrase for half a century, the best I could come up with became the title of this post. The 50th wedding anniversary is called the golden jubilee and sitting here today my life feels pretty damn near golden. Let me encourage you to not allow anyone to steal the golden from your jubilee.

The Longer You Wait

I believe it began with an early purchase of the wreath for the front door. I knew I’d need to wait until Winter passed to hang it, much to Gary’s sadness, but holding firm to my first week of March debut has been a challenge. I think about hanging it everyday, but there’s a sweet spot to be found in the waiting.

The same with flowers. The garden centers are open and brimming with the first round of seasonal beauties, but I’ve resisted walking into one. My self discipline with flowers is minimal, so it’s best to stay away because here’s what I learned about doing things early. The earlier you do them, the longer the upkeep.

By late February, of 2021, my flowers beds were filled with flowering inpatients and I was instructed to water them every other day for weeks to establish their roots. By mid March they began to grow and by June they were absolutely stunning to see. July and August are the hottest months in Texas and inpatients take a lot of water, so, here’s Barb, hose in hand watering every flower bed at least 3 times a week in 100 degree temps. I don’t want to do that again.

June 2021

Last Winter, I brought two of my favorite flowering plants indoors to stay warm and rest. They went dormant, but now are exhibiting signs of new growth, so I’m easing them back outside. I’m perfectly content with those plants and am looking forward to the day they bloom, but in the meantime I’ll wait to see what my heart says about this yard. Possibilities arise in abundance the longer you wait.

Relax and allow me to read this to you:

Rest in Your Natural Self

The meme used as the feature photo was created by my daughters, boyfriends, father. That’s a mouthful. My friend Jeanne on WordPress recently discovered that I’d let go of Letitgocoach for this blogsite and she called this blog, my ‘secret’ blog. I hadn’t thought about it, but it kinda is. I’m not here to be seen, but I’m grateful to be read. My hope is who reads what’s written here will gather a sense of peace and stillness to surround them in their circumstances.

I spent Saturday repotting plants. Just moving them into a pot one size larger than what they were in. The next morning they looked happier, a little more free with space for their roots to roam. I repotted one that I’d been procrastinating repotting because it’s large, yet fragile. I didn’t have the right type pot for it, so went in search for one at a couple of garden centers, but this guy is 5′ tall, so I wanted a lightweight pot to be able to move it with ease. Lightweight equates to plastic, which I’m not a fan of. As I stood gazing at the large, plastic pots on the shelf of the garden center I wondered, ‘I know you’re plastic, but why must you scream plastic?’

While shopping, I knew there’s a pot sitting in my yard that would work, but it’s made of clay. It’s heavy when empty, so I couldn’t imagine how heavy it would be filled with dirt and a tree. This plant was so root bound, I had to cut the container off of it, but once I placed it in the pot, it stood tall. I watered it thoroughly while outside knowing once I brought it inside, I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage watering it again. (Still pondering that) By God’s grace I was able to carry it inside, back to it’s designated place by the double windows. It has new growth and in this pot it can breath a little easier, and spread out a little more during the winter months which is similar to what my heart whispers about this blogsite.

It’s a new pot just one size larger than the last…a place for your roots to roam, but will reveal signs of growth, yet all the while finding rest in your natural self.

Slow is Free

I was walking the neighborhood, and saw some friends outside, so stopped to say hello. One had a question about tea filters, and the best method for loose-leaf teas. When describing the type bag I use, her husband began nodding his head, like he could envision what I’d described. He said, “I’ll just order some off Amazon and they’ll be here tomorrow, or maybe even tonight!” Everyone chuckled.

In January of this year, I stopped ordering from Amazon. Delivery is fast, but I was hugely disappointed in the quality of product. What I’d ordered looked as if it had been opened and for all I know, could have been used.

This made me look at other areas of my life in which I was paying for fast, and PayPal was another. To move money from PayPal into another account was immediate, for a price. They take a percentage of the money moved, which bothered me to no end, considering PayPal did nothing to earn the money. I was paying for convenience. You can move it for free, but they warn it may take 1-3 business days, but the money shows up in 24 hours.

Free takes more time. It helps is to pay attention and take note when you’re running out of something. To order it ahead of time and not pay an extra fee for fast, because in more ways than one, slow is free.

Stay True to You

Over the weekend I was sitting on my bed recording a Marco Polo for my friend, and showing her some things I’d done to my room to make it more Haven-like. She Marco Polo’s me back saying she loved the flowers on the bedside table, and noticed I’ve had fresh flowers in my room for the past few weeks. My friend vowed to buy fresh flowers for herself at least once a month, and I encouraged her to do so.

In the Winter months I need a vase of flower’s in the house because I miss tending to the flower beds outdoors. I took care of them last Spring and Summer, but now they’re empty waiting for Spring. I miss getting my hands covered in dirt, so much so, I repotted an herb today using the kitchen sink. My daughter walked by slowly, but I was quick to admit, “There might be a bag of dirt in the kitchen, and I might be repotting a plant in the kitchen sink.” She just grinned and encouraged me to continue.

It’s important to do these small things for ourselves, especially in the Winter months. It’s our true self wondering why these things are suddenly missing from our everyday life. It’s a change in season, and fortunately for us, seasons do change.

An empty Voluspa candle container being used as a vase.

If you miss the season of ‘in bloom’, then by all means buy yourself some flowers and stay true to you.