Hard Work Brings Blessings and Beauty

As promised, I’m about to tell you about the bulbs that were boxed-up and hiding in my shed, ready to be planted. Now I’m gonna stop right here and tell you that my husband was NOT prepared for what he would see when he opened that box. Inside, were bags upon bags, labeled by color, and numbered with the quantity of 10 on the outside of all 10 bags.

Now before all of you lose your breath from gasping out loud, or hyperventilating like my husband did, you need to know that I had a plan. A good plan, and that plan did not include digging 100 holes with a hole digger as his expression seemed to reflect or explode – as either adjective works.

Back in October, before I got ready to order my bulbs for spring, I was Face Book conversing with a friend of mine who owns/runs a plant nursery.  I was telling her about the difficulty I have with some of my flowering bulbs, as in once they bloom, the tops are heavy, and they can’t seem to stand on their own.

Last year we went to Lowes and bought some plant holders, which seemed especially made for that. It worked, but also made my garden area look cluttered with other things besides pretty flowers.

During this conversation my friend Sissi told me how to avoid all of that. Even as she was saying it, I thought, WOW, how did I not figure that out on my own!? She told me the secret was to plant at least 4-5 bulbs all in a cluster together in the ground. The weight of the group bunched up, would help hold each other up once they started to bloom. And actually, when I thought back to all the pictures I had ever seen of these particular bulbs/flowers, that’s exactly what they looked like – bunched into a cluster.

So, nothing to do but create my plan and go forward with what I needed for that plan to succeed. I ordered 10 bulbs of 10 different colors, which of course equaled to a total of 100 in those 10 bags he saw once he opened that huge box.

Once I had my husband calmed down, his breathing became regulated again, and I could get a word in edge-wise, I explained how all of this would work. There would only be TWENTY-FIVE holes, not ONE HUNDRED, and nobody was going to die that day from over-excursion. 

We loaded it all up in our wheelbarrow, he dug the 25 holes, and I gathered one color from various bags to make-up a multi-colored bouquet for each hole.

Now you may be doing the math and know that mathematically it should be only 20 holes for 100 bulbs at 5 bulbs per hole. Well, I already had one bulb in the ground, which would be dug-up and combined with 4 others, making the 5 per hole, and 25-hole total.

I know. Nothing is ever simple with me. My Gladioli’s will not be blooming by this coming Easter Sunday, but when they do, they will be beautiful and worth the extra work! 

Mind Your Manners Please

There is a reason that I don’t work in customer/public service – I am simply not genetically made for it. When I was a teenager, my second real job was working in a grocery store. I had several responsibilities, the main one, being a cashier. I was young and fresh out of high school; my life was about to change forever. I was just about to realize my limitations as a human being, that would change the landscape of my life.

The store where I worked was on the main drive, Slappey Blvd in Albany Georgia. Behind it, most of the neighborhoods housed people that had lived there most of their lives, now in their late 60’s and 70’s.

I cannot tell you the things I learned about people just by working in that store. It was quite possibly the best eye-opener for any person my age to experience. But that’s not how I know I shouldn’t work in customer service or maybe even with just people in general.

I was a Purchasing Manager for 20 years. I didn’t work with customers, I worked with sales people. Which meant that basically I was in charge and I didn’t have to listen to foolishness. That job came to an end when the company closed down.

Thankfully, some wonderful folk were looking out for me and I was able to roll right into another job with no time standing still to fret or worry. However, that job opening was for a Human Resource Manager.

Now I don’t have to step out far and wide to tell many of you, just how far that job is from my particular salty/sassy no-holds-barred personality. I’ll just leave you with this funny example of how most of my days go now.

Typical day:  I came to work one morning, locked the front door behind me because I needed to go to the restroom first. A minute or so later, I hear the door unlock and the bell jingle that's attached to the door; as several supervisors also have keys.

The door to my office is still shut and the light is out because I didn't make it that far. My bosses door is shut, and the bathroom door is shut with the loud fan going in there that sounds like it's about to explode and sling shrapnel.  And all of this you can see (and hear) as you stand right inside the entrance of the front door.

One of the supervisors begins to shout my name. I almost lost my good graces when I came out of there. I was like dude, you can obviously see where I MUST BE, and this isn’t your house where you come inside hollering for your wife or kids - even though you also know THEY are in the restroom - so why would you do that EITHER - because what can they do for you in there? He just stood there and looked at me like I had lost my mind. I was like " some courtesy please, would be appreciated". 

Prayers are appreciated that I make it to retirement. Because it is highly questionable some days!

A Thief In The Night

It’s almost a week later and I’m still worn out. My feet are still draggin’ and my eyes are still burning and wanting to nap at weird times of the day. Everything is all out of whack and it’s going to take at least another couple of weeks for me to level out and feel normal again.

It’s black as smut when the alarm goes off, and internally, my body knows it should not be time to rise and shine; especially when there is absolutely NO shine going on. The afternoons are far too bright for far too long, making me ashamed for not being productive longer and later into the evening.

I keep hearing these nasty, nasty rumors/ news reports, talking about this is the way it will be / should be all the time! For goodness sake – whose bright idea was that? I mean what good could possibly come from that?

We already don’t have four real seasons in the state of Florida. We have about three weeks of what some people would call winter. I mean seriously folks, what do we need with year around daylight until 9pm every night?

My body and soul looks forward to the Fall Back time regression. I need that down time to regroup from the long, awful summers we have here. When you have temperatures up near the 100’s for the last several months of summer, you should be ready for darkness to fall a little bit sooner by the time November gets here.

We barely even have a fall season; as a matter of fact, it goes from straight up burning-flames-hot to winds that feel like the heat from the flames of the dying embers.

I need the comfort of the difference. I need a break with the time change so that I know that winter is really coming, whether we ever see a real one here or not.

So yes, not only am I tired and worn out from the hour that was just stolen from me with all that Spring Forward mess we choose to participate in, I am also worried that I will be expected to Spring Forward for the next 365 days and beyond.

I’m here to tell you all, it may not seem like much to some, but for us older folks, a lost hour is a lot. I already sleep in a hit and miss fashion as it is; you know with menopause and all. I’m up some nights staring out windows and wandering the floors looking for something that will send me to sleepy-land. 

And now, I’m not only losing normal sleep at any given time, but I’ll also be lacking that one hour that was thieved in the middle of the night.

No, I’m not happy at all. I’m not 25 years old anymore, loving the extra light added to the daytime hours. I’m old, I’m tired, and I’m grumpy; which leads to sleepy, dopey and whiny as well. I’m basically the entire Seven Dwarfs all rolled-into-one. But I’m mostly just mad, and by golly, I want my hour back!

Until the Air Clears......

As I look over into the lane next to me, the driver of the bright blue vehicle, also sitting at the red light, patiently waiting for the light to turn green, is staring at me with a sad look on her face. I turn my head back forward to check the light status which is still red, then I glance bank to my right again, and she is still staring.

My vision isn’t as clear as it could be on this fine, beautiful day, but there is no mistake about it, she is indeed staring.

As I pick up my tissue to once again, dab these crying eyes, and blot my snotty nose, it suddenly occurs to me what is happening. I have been crying and snotting all up and down HWY 90, and the sweet person riding parallel to me the whole time, thinks that I’m upset and am crying!

I tried to smile when I thought she was looking again, to assure her I was fine. Because I don’t know about you all, but when I see things like that, I sometimes make-up my own story as to what is happening; and it sticks with me the rest of the day. I’m pretty sure whatever she had in her head, my smiling didn’t convince her as I was having to dab my eyes and nose through the entire smiling performance.

As the land and its entire atmosphere is coated with shades of green and yellow, so is my head, eyes, and my nose. I knew the seasonal ritual had begun weeks ago, as each morning, I would see smaller doses of coverage on my vehicle each morning when I was leaving for work.

As a matter of fact, I had my annual eye appointment about that time and I was actually “crying” in his office that morning as well. He asked me what was going on, and I told him, “oh just the normal allergy thing that happens every year”. He said “No, I think it’s still a little too early for all that.” I looked at him with my face saying what I was not – which was – think again Doc, it’s happening.

And now, oh my grand, absolutely everything is covered. I attempted to sit on my front porch last night, and ogle at the birds that are all but attacking my feeders once again; and I was out there barely 10 minutes before the sniffling began. So back inside I went, camera and all, and hoped for another small rain shower to settle it down again.

  For all who took a science class, you know that every living thing needs pollen to procreate; without it, there would be no beautiful flowers.

But pollen has a wonderful purpose albeit it can feel deadly and debilitating for us mere humans.

So, I’m thinking we can all live in distress for a short period of time each year in exchange for the beauty it affords us. So keep plenty of Kleenex on hand, eye drops in the medicine cabinet, and allergy meds to keep the sinus infections away.

You Can Always Go Back Home

It’s hard moving to a town where you know no one but the people that you work with; the people that work for the company that you made a decision to transfer to, twenty years ago. Especially when the town that you leave behind, holds all the people that you grew-up with, went to school with, and learned how to become an adult with.

All those people who knew you as a chubby, snaggle-tooth young girl, then as a teenager who was slowly slimming-up and wore braces, to the high schooler who had finally come into her own skin and was comfortable with most any group she should find herself standing in.

All those people, all those kids/teenagers/now adults, know you better than most anybody. They know your sense of humor, your shortcomings, your failures and your successes. They were with you through skipping classes and getting caught and through figuring out what school was supposed to be about and how to make the most of it.

They were with you through your break-ups and heartbreaks, and cheering you on when you made editor of the high school newspaper and wrote an article that would turn the school on its head and show the adults that “kids” did have something to say, and that sometimes it paid to listen.

They were there when a gang of you went to see Halloween at the movies in 3D and you were too scared to drive home alone afterward.

They were with you when you got your first real job, your first real car, and made your own money while still in high school.

They were with you for summer trips to the beach, getting too much sun, and meeting so many cute boys. Cooking out on camp fires and sleeping in tents on St George Island. And for you people who didn’t know, it really used to be a pretty desolate island. No houses of any kind, no hotels, no food places; just one general store and place for showers. All that ever came there were people to camp, either inside mobile campers or on the beach itself. What a time that was to be a teenager!

All of those things and so much more, I left behind when I moved. All of those people I left behind; my friends who went on with their lives making families, making babies, and working jobs.

By the time you all are reading this, I will have already been back home to have lunch with a few of my girlfriends from home. I try and go home for those lunches a couple times a year, because I miss those people, my friends.  I miss the familiarity, I miss the laughter, and I miss the girls who know me the best.

I miss the folks who can tell by my tone over the phone when something is wrong, and who won’t rest until I open-up about it and they try and help me out.  I miss the girls who loved me first, who love me now, no matter the distance in between, whether it be in miles or minutes of time.

Presentation is Everything!!!

                                                             

So in between the freezing cold and tolerable coolness this is what I do: I buy bulbs, on-line, through the Holland Bulb Company, and with visions of Amaryllis in my head, I began to plan the expansion of my Amaryllis flower bed.

Although I only ordered ten bulbs, they came in two huge boxes which of course set off major alarms for my husband the day they were delivered to the house. He of course, saw the labels on the top of each box, and I admit, I thought to myself when I saw them, (because I really couldn’t remember, as it had been months since I ordered them) just how many bulbs DID I actually buy?

As I entered the back door that afternoon and saw the boxes sitting on the kitchen counter, I began to mentally back-track so that I was ready with an explanation as it always best to not let on that even YOU can’t remember what you did, especially where spending money is concerned.

So, I casually announced “Oh! My bulbs finally came in!” like it was the most natural thing in the world to see two huge boxes marked “bulbs” sitting on my counter, and then proceeded to cut them open with a pair of scissors from the kitchen drawer; all of the above happening in one smooth motion. And let me tell you folks, the relief on my insides, (which I tried to hide from my facial expression), to only see five (WHEW!) smaller boxes inside each big box.

At any rate, my next battle, as I had not prior discussed this bulb order, was to explain to my sweet, sweet husband this whole “vision” of mine. I flowered it up with the same colorful imagination in which it was originally created in my mind, but somehow, the look on his face didn’t quite equal the joy of the story I was telling.

Matter of fact, I’ll just tell the truth here and say his “face” showed absolutely no joy at all. Even when I told him there would only have to be ten holes dug – nothing. I got nothing. Zero joy.

However, a week or so later, we had the perfect Sunday morning to set about our planting. Granted, he had worked a six-day work week prior to; so that he was holding a pair of hole diggers and they were entering the ground instead of the side of my head – well you can understand the irony there, and very possibly the miracle of it all!

But together, without any fuss, muss or injury, we planted the ten additional Amaryllis in the bed by my mailbox, that will accompany the other eight bulbs or so that have been there for years. They should all bloom come early Spring, a mixture of solid red and red/white striped.

I would tell you all about the other HUGE box of Gladioli bulbs that I have stored in my shed right now – that can’t be planted until after the last frost, and all my plans for those; but obviously, that’s still a secret…ssshhhhhh.

♫ If you Love Somebody, Clap Your Hands ♫

When I was a little girl, the best Valentine experience was in direct proportion to how many “secret” valentines I got in my decorated bag at school. And if was a really special valentine, there would be some kind of candy attached to it as well.

I had absolutely no experience with Valentine’s in Jr High School. I guess I’m going to have to say it was because I had no boyfriends from the 7^th to the 9^th grade. None that were willing to spend any money on me anyway. What can I say, I was a late bloomer.

But then there was high school and the ever dreaded/popular carnation purchase and swap deal on Valentine’s Day. All the different colors of the carnations meant silly things, but I can remember getting my fair share of them, mostly from my girlfriends.

Because that’s the silent agreement that goes on between females at that age. Girlfriends swap and exchange among one another, that way, no one really knows who did or didn’t get anything from a boy.

And of course there were always the lucky girls who got the huge stuffed teddy bear or a dozen roses that the florist delivers to the front office at school. Although, the boys that were brave enough to drag those stuffed animals to school were the real hero’s.

These days, the gifts have changed and more money is involved with these young kids – but hearts hurt and break just the same whenever anyone is left out or ignored.

It’s so funny how it seemed like life and death back then, depending on whatever happened when Valentine’s Day would roll around each year; that your fate was made and decided that day.

But now I’m a grown-up and it’s even crazier how much my idea of what would make a good Valentine’s Day for ANY day is to me now; like:

1.           When my oldest child comes home for Christmas, and always tries to plan a movie day just for me and him, because he truly likes to do things with me.  

2.            When my husband has worked a six day work week for two months straight, but helps me plant flower bulbs on his only day off.

3.            When my youngest child calls me on a Saturday night, invites me over to eat and play pool with the rest of his friends, even though I’m his 54 year old mother.

4.          When friends send me just-because-cards and surprises in the mail for absolutely no real reason at all.  

5.          When no matter my age, and my parents know I have been sick, they call every day, without fail, to check on me.

6.            When the ever-continuing string text between me and my children sits stagnate for days, then erupts one night in totally inappropriate humor that lasts for hours, because that’s how we roll.

Those are my favorite kinds of expressions of love. Just show me that you love me, show me that you care, listen to me when I talk, and I will listen to you. Valentine’s Day is about love – find a way to show it.