My birthday was last week and I received this gift. A potted rosebush. Isn't it beautiful? Delicate. It's indoors right now, but when summer arrives, I will plant it outside. The best part is that it's a perennial, meaning it will last forever.
Okay, maybe not forever. Nothing lasts forever. But, I hope it will last for a long time. Kind of like me--here at seventy-one years old, having already lasted a long time. Nearly a century.
In my younger years, I was always in a rush. I needed to crash onto the scene and make a big splash. Dazzle everyone with my youthful good looks. My winning smile. My unparalleled talent and wildly original-originality. Oh, and along the way, win a bunch of awards and make a truckload of money.
Nowadays, I don't think about this. Mainly, because that ship has sailed. I can no longer consider crashing onto the scene because if I did, I'd probably break a hip. And dazzling everyone with my youthful good looks? Well, never mind. The money has come, but not from any particularly brilliant thing I might have done. Mostly it's come from dumb luck. Oh, and some from the frugality of the late Papa Callan.
So, here I am. Not done yet, because I am not an annual. I am not the new kid on the block. Rather, I am that old rosebush slowly climbing up your trestle, year after year after year after year. Sure, some pruning is always in order, but I do believe I'm here to stay. And at this point, I'm glad I was never an overnight sensation, because even at this old age, I can hold onto the hope that one day I emerge triumphant, the girl-wonder, the overnight sensation--even if that means I'm long gone when it happens.
Creative Friends--there is no right time to make your spectacular-spectacular. It happens when it happens, and in the meantime, be sure to offer up plenty of sunshine and fresh air, a bit of pruning, joy and grace and love--to your perennial self and to all those who share this precious time with you.
Love,
Jamie
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.