Bloomability

How was your August?  August didn’t go, or for that matter, grow, so well for us.  This summer’s heat and drought seemed to dry up my energy as well as my garden.  The leaves on crops and trees alike are either brown and crispy, or dull and drooping with dust.  And my Kyra quit smiling.

When someone is non-verbal and cannot write or sign or point or use other conventional communication methods, body language and facial expressions become your only true glimpse into their thoughts, hopes, fears, hurts, and joys.

So, when my Kyra doesn't smile, it's a big deal around here.

Come to find out, her lack of expression and frequent coughing episodes, which I attributed to exposure to new allergens during a several-state road trip, were caused instead by pneumonia.  And when we returned from our adventure, we discovered that our dog Anya was not lethargic due to the record-breaking heat, but Lyme disease.

With her antibiotic treatments completed, and Anya's antibiotic treatments underway, Kyra and I ventured back outside this week to care for our sadly neglected gardens.  As I listlessly swung the garden hose to and fro across a parched and cracked flower bed, a bit of white caught my eye.  One of our shallow-rooted strawberry plants had survived, and was blooming.  Now, if this plant had done the smart thing, it would have hunkered down and conserved its energy for next spring.  Instead, it had chosen to expend its meager August energy to bloom for us.  While that single bloom will never produce a luscious red strawberry, it did produce a smile on my face, giving us an unexpected bit of hope amid the heat.

Today, Kyra is smiling ear to ear, happy to be back at school.  Anya has started to play with her toys and chase the cats again, and I found a 3-foot long zucchini and a 20-pound pumpkin happily defying the drought.  Life is good again.  For now.

Undoubtedly, life will bring hot, dry, and listless days that zap your energy and cloud your purpose.  May I suggest that when those days occur, instead of hunkering down, you think of that strawberry plant and bloom wherever you are, in any way you can.

p.s. “Bloomability”, a young-adult novel by Sharon Creech, tells the story of growing and blooming wherever you’re planted.  It is highly recommended by all of my daughters and me.  Check it out at your local library, or check out www.sharoncreech.com for more information.