Green Thumb

I've never really kept plants. I've had bamboo plants off and on since I was a kid, but those barely count. They're really low maintenance and seem to be able to last forever even when you put them up on a high shelf and forget to water them for weeks on end (ummm...not that I've done that or anything.)

I've always been really impressed with people who garden and/or keep their own personal jungle of plants, indoor trees and flowers alive and thriving in their homes. I've always wanted a few plants of my own, but aside from the bamboo, I've never really gotten into it.

Until now, anyway.

I bought myself a bamboo plant a few weeks before I moved down here. Why not start with the ol' tried and true? A couple of weeks after moving in I decided I wouldn't mind another one to brighten up the room a little bit. So the next time I found myself at the store, I was moseying through the garden area looking for a friend for the bamboo. I found a cute little plant  but I have no idea what it's called, the little tag in the dirt didn't say anything besides "easy to care for house plant!" -- perfect for me. A few weeks later I bought one more plant, I had a spot on the table next to the armchair in my room, so I picked out a snake plant which is decently easy to care for.

The night of our commitment ceremony Alyssa and I were each given a beautiful, flowering, thriving African Violet. It came with a care sheet that proved not to be entirely helpful because both of us managed to bring these poor little violets to the brink of death before checking them into the African Violet ER managed by one of the Sisters here at the Mount (no, I'm not kidding). She's a miracle worker, and after a few weeks of care, our violets were ready for discharge (at which time we received an email stating they were ready to come home, good as new, and had been asking for us-- how cute?)

Since the violets were released, Alyssa and I have taken turns keeping both in our rooms as we were informed they really like having a friend around and do a little better that way. We joke that we each get custody every other week. We were taught how to properly water them, which was the ultimate diagnosis of why they almost died in the first place. They were getting watered too much and we weren't watering them from the bottom in a dish like they need.

Now, I'm getting into this whole tangent because 1- it's been a slow news week and I've had a hard time coming up with something worth posting about (that would be why there was no post Monday) and 2- Alyssa's violet has three little flowers beginning to bud, and mine appears to have one tiny bud making it's way out of the dirt.

Success!!! I don't think I've been so happy to see little flower buds in my life....except maybe after a particularly brutal winter. But these are extra exciting, because we worked hard carefully caring for these plants, waiting patiently for the flowers to return. And both of the plants look better than ever, even though they are still lacking flowers for the moment.

How appropriate that this is happening in Advent, the season of patiently waiting, tending to the needs of our world, preparing to welcome a source of great joy. The birth of Jesus is barely comparable to our little violets finally sprouting new life in terms of magnitude, but a metaphor is a metaphor. It's kind of amazing how sitting here on a reflection day, spending a couple of hours of reading, writing and reflecting on this season can turn something as simple as a flower blooming into a profound moment.

Watch, wait, listen, find God in the moment. Happen Advent everyone :)

My trusty bamboo plant

The mystery plant

My fussy snake plant

The violet twins, with Alyssa's with it's little pink bud on the right