Slice of Life Day 5: Keeping an Orchid Alive
My partner has gifted me at least five orchids over the past 10 years. And every single one has died an untimely death due to my lack of expertise in the orchid field. So for our anniversary last year when another orchid showed up on our dining room table, I knew I had to do something.
I spent a good amount of time Googling how to care for orchids, which are tropical plants that have no business living in the Philadelphia suburbs. And then, I started taking care of it. Little by little, I watered it, made sure to remove the flowers as they wilted and died and even trimmed one flower stem that started to turn brown.
The flowers died months ago and yet I continued to water it in the hopes that even if it didn’t bloom again, at least it would continue to live. And low and behold, a new stem started growing a few months ago. And now there are actually buds on the stem! I am so excited that through my care, patience, and a lot of luck this orchid isn’t only living, it’s thriving!
Not unlike relationships in our life – they all take time, patience, hard work to keep them nurtured and growing. And honestly? I can’t remember what color the flowers on the orchid were, so I’m excited to see them again!
This is my second year participating in the Slice of Life Challenge. I’ll be posting brief posts that show a glimpse of my life in story-format. A slice of my life as a librarian and blogger that I hope you enjoy!
