Orchid Blooms
I bought this orchid three years ago just before Heather and I were married. Now, every time it blooms, I’m reminded of that windy day in July when we stood on top of a hill, in front of our friends and family, laughed, kissed, and bound our lives together.
Keeping an orchid alive in San Francisco is a challenge. This drafty apartment is a far cry from the humid jungles where they thrive. Orchids have roots, but don’t need soil. They draw their sustenance from their environment: light from the sun, moisture from the air. The fog of Cole Valley is not an orchid’s ideal habitat.
But this one’s still alive. Plants, like people, only bloom when they’re being nurtured. This is the third annual bloom. And every flower reminds me that you can make beauty out of difficult circumstances, that life goes on no matter what, and that we depend on those around us not just to live, but to thrive.