These brave azaleas, tricked by the twists of weather this month, as seems to be a new trend, have decided to bloom now rather than wait for spring – which means less flowers then, but a little more cheer now. I’m not sure which is the better decision anymore. I used to believe in delaying the gratification, but with all that’s happened in the past five years I’m leaning toward getting our joy as soon as we can get it and making the most of it then. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
That’s a serious sea change in how I view the world, one which has been a few years in the making and shifting. It started with COVID and has been re-enforced and impelled by all that’s happened since. And it’s a good thing, I think. Planning only gets you so far – you have to be wiling to go with the flow and adapt and change as things unfurl differently from what you may have imagined. This is a good life lesson, and I feel it in the blooming of these beautiful azaleas – yes, their petals are crinkled with cold, and true, they may be frozen into wilted oblivion, but for a gray day in November, they made things beautiful, they gave us a peek of spring, they did their best even if I would have done things differently – and who’s to say they’re wrong?
