When I purchased this azalea plantevery bloom was a deep fuschia, and it bloomed for two years as a fuschia azalea bush. Then one year I noticed a lighter pink bloom. "How exciting," I thought, "...what a fabulous plant." The following year - white blooms. "Now wait a minute. Is this a schizophrenic azalea bush?"
Every day I walk by this fascinating bush and enjoy that one plant displays three distinctly different colors, and I wonder at the cause. Is it the soil? Too acidic? Too alkaline? Or is it the root system? Or perhaps the cause is in the very DNA of the plant. (Assuming of course, that plants have DNA). As my mind tends to do, I started drawing life metaphors from the sight before me.
It is always interesting when I visit Utah because most people know me as the "Cathy" they saw growing up, aka, the fuschia bloom. I'm now in a blinding white stage, but I realize I went through a light pink stage also. Also, many of the close friends in California are used to my light pink personality, and have failed to pick up the subtle clues that I am definitly more white these days. To defy all logic, my children look at me and see an orange bloom. My very own flesh and blood fail to see any pink, white or fuschia, and insist I'm through and through orange.
What I find to be my own personal truth, is although I may have been all three colors at one time or another, I'm ultimately a little of all of them, occasionally bursting forth with a major pink day, or surprising myself by the whiteness I displayed in a situation, where, dog-gone-it, I thought I'd given up that white mentality. Remember in Disney's Pocahontas, where she sings - You can't step in the same river twice, the rivers always changing, always flowing...Right On!...come to think of it most of my life philosophies can usually be summed up by Disney songs. (After raising 5 children I spent way more time with Disney than I did with Freud ) Ahhh...I digress...as to "The Tale of the Changing Blooms", who knows, maybe my children do know me best and next spring, sure enough, I'll walk out my front door and I'll behold a vibrant orange azalea.
5 comments:
So very well written and most enjoyable to read. You are my vibrant rainbow lady!!
Oh aunt Catherine, how I do miss you! My fondest memories are of the time Kim & I spent with your family. I luv ya lots!! And your family!
I always like it when I find people who know me as an old version of my new self, it always makes me smile, and remember where I have been.
I love you Aunt Catherine and too miss the times we spent in your home. We weren't treated as guests or visitors but part of the family and I love that. I love your entire family including the little animals . . . Jimmy is in doggie heaven but I'm sure I'll love the new one.
I remember when i was younger and you would beg me to be more organized and have a cleaner room and i would reply with "I can't that is just the way I am" and you would always tell me that it was apart of God's plan for us to change and grow. It would always make me so mad that you were right. There was just no refuting that change is apart of life. Isn't it nice to see where you came from and look forward to what the future may hold? I know this doesn't completely apply to your post but it is what my mind went to and i thought you would want to know
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