An Early Bloomer

On a blog titled “Late Bloomer Living Gratefully,” this early bloomer wanted some space:

The photo of the bud ready to burst open was taken on Saturday evening at 6:29 p.m. The fully open blossom was taken the next day, at 1:24 p.m., nineteen hours later. It was the first bloom to open on a plant now loaded down with flowers.

This late bloomer appreciates that timeframe, and the fragile and precious beauty and color of this peony blossom. It is from a plant on the farm my husband Darcy grew up on, and also where his paternal grandparents lived in their later years. His memory is of his grandmother planting three peony plants under the picture window in 1977. She liked pinkish-white flowers. They thrived for many years. Darcy’s grandma died in 1994, but the peonies lived on. His grandpa moved to assisted living in 2002, and the house was actually moved as well, a year later.

Darcy thought the peonies had been destroyed when the house was moved. But in a visit to the empty plot in the spring of 2007, Darcy noticed the peonies coming up. On our next trip to visit his grandpa, a pail and shovel came along and Darcy dug up the peony. His grandpa died in August of 2007. The peony was already in the ground in our backyard.

It took some years to reach full strength, but has been one of our favorite blossoms to welcome each spring. It carries much nostalgia and sentiment for Darcy.

The fleeting lifespan of a peony blossom, already fading and turning brown on the edges. It sure had a prime time while it lasted though.

The fleeting timeline of a human life—days, months, years, decades adding up. I sometimes feel past my prime too, but then I pause to take in the gifts of this moment—in and around me. This late bloomer is still blooming and new buds are still coming along. Living gratefully is the fertile soil. Onward!