Still Blooming

Our Christmas cactus is still blooming; from before Christmas into Lent it has bloomed.  Pleasure and beauty to enjoy daily. This cactus started out as a little thing, but Vickie's care and nurture over the years has brought it to where it is now.

You don't have to care for an artificial plant, it doesn't need sun or water or TLC. You don't have to touch it, your fingers don't have to get grimy, you don't have to get dirt under your nails.

Friendships need sun and water, and a willingness to get dirty. Relationships usually start small, but oh how they can grow if tended to. They can blossom, they can bloom, and they can be beautiful and give us much joy. But it does take practice, and it takes trial and error, and a willingness to say "I'm sorry" and to keep working on the friendship. Not all plants are the same, not all people are the same.

We have more than just the Christmas cactus in our sun room, but Vickie knows how to treat each one, how much sun, how much water, what nutrients, and when the weather warms up she knows which ones can go outside and which ones will need to remain indoors.

So much today is artificial, including what passes for relationship. It's nice to enjoy the real thing.