Flowers In Winter

I got my Christmas pictures back from the photo store. They were fun to look at as usual, the traditional Christmas tree and opening of presents. Surprising me at the end of the roll were the remnants of my summer garden flowers. Seeing these pictures was like the warmth coming back to me. There was a glow from the sunshine, but also an inner ember at seeing my botanical babies again.

There weren't "flowers in the snow." That would speak of early spring. These photographic gems were "flowers in winter." It was a looking back on something wonderful that happened in summer, while I approach the cold of winter.

My life is nearing winter. There are the typical signs of it everywhere. My hair is getting many strands of white, lovingly referred to by my husband as a colony. These outcroppings don't look like highlights, but I pretend they do. My knees make multiple noises when I try to squat. My skin is quite dry and there are wrinkles. The condition of my hearing you can guess. These are the familiar landmarks of winter's onset. This is a good time to see some flowers.

My flowers come in many forms. I have a good memory. A mind is a treasury, a huge visual field to be mined any time.

I need lots of color. Color sells, color wakes up the senses. It causes you to pick a favorite. It blows darts of pigment seeds all over the gray and black of winter. It reminds me of the many varieties of life and activity in my family.

Flowers in winter mean there is still some life and growth. My hair grows. My dreams grow because they are alive. Sometimes my dreams get out of hand and must be pruned.

Flowers in winter have seeds. While the flowers are now dead, the seeds are already in the ground. They are dormant. There is no toil. I must believe they will come forth at the proper time. In winter you wait. My seeds will soon require more work. They will need attention and hope if I'm ever to see my beauties again.

They will spring forth. They always go farther than the last years crop. That's just what they do.

Because I believe winter doesn't last forever, I am excited about the new blooms. Though the path to summer is long, I have my flower pictures to remind me that the impossible happens. Life begets life. My flowers encourage me that the seeds of abundant life have already been planted.