Perennials
August 7, 2012 * * * * * Posted by: Barbara
At mid-life, women are like perennials in the garden - returning richer and wider, deeper and more strongly rooted, ready to bloom again.
We grow the strength of resilience during dormant periods, composting the joys and tears, triumphs and trials, rejuvenating deep in the soil of spirit.
Transitions.
We’ve moved from girls to young women.
Our first bloom.
We’ve moved through birthing and motherhood.
Tendrils extend out from our push toward more life.
We mature as life squeezes at our core from all directions, perhaps not sure what to cling to for nourishment or where to find strength under scorching heat. But we figure it out and prevail.
Delicate seedlings float away from us on the breeze, landing on their own and we transition again.
Many women have forgotten. Who were they before all the mothering years? Who were they before all the spreading and growth?
Perennials don’t forget. Or do they?
“Am I hydrangea? Peony? Was it a jasmine scent I emitted? And how exactly did I do that? Was I a climbing rose or a wild one on my own? Did I enjoy the breeze on my petals? Was it direct sunlight that I craved or did I flourish in the shade? Was it rain and moisture I required or did I rise taller with drought?”
Perhaps winter gives them the time to recall. By spring they know just how to sprout. Their stalks are stronger. Their color and blossom clearly defined in form and hue.
Perennials don’t mourn the tentative flowers they used to be. They’re so much more than that now.
Mid-life women have gained abundant wisdom as well. They contain a complex network of roots. Experience, power, congruency, influence and freedom are the fruits they bear. That’s what I see. That’s the fragrance and bounty I enjoy.
We’re given the chance to become new again with each season of life. At middle-age we’ve reached our prime. We’ve matured and offer a more seasoned beauty, like perennials that return more prolific each year. It’s in our DNA to give birth now to wisdom and change. To influence and refresh. Our giving and our growth and our bloom have purpose.
We present a way toward light. We inspire. Our mere presence enriches the garden.
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Special guest today is Barbara Albright from "right in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains" in Colorado, blogging at The Empty Nest Mom. Thank you for joining us here today, Barb!
Barbara Albright, Perennials
Reader Comments (21)
this is such a beautiful piece barbara, i love your words. i'm hitting mid-life now i guess...carrying much with me, that is good, from before. i look forward to continuing this journey and picking up more as i go along.
Not that I've done much gardening in my lifetime, Barb, but you have made it so clear to me why I've always headed straight to the perennials! I LOVE the way you have written this juxtaposition with our mid-lives. It’s in our DNA to give birth now to wisdom and change. To influence and refresh. What a privilege to accept ourselves as that kind of gift to the world!
Thank you so much for joining us at V&V today!
Nodding my head as I read this. Such a beautiful metaphor for women of 'our' age. I can so relate to that not remembering who we were before all of that 'spreading and growth'...and then finding ourselves the same but different and stronger.
Love..love..love this! Thanks for visiting us today Barbara!!!!
Lovely post - and as so often happens, circumstances help to dictate what attracts my attention. Your remark that "We mature as life squeezes at our core from all directions, perhaps not sure what to cling to for nourishment or where to find strength under scorching heat" is apropos for many of us, particularly for those living where that scorching heat has turned to fire. It's worth remembering that even fire is part of the cycle, preparing the ground for new growth.
i like the metaphor you've chosen for this post. rich with cycles and promise and knowing the importance of being still in dormancy. just beautiful.
Today I will ponder my own "complex network of roots"...thanks for a post to make me think!
"Our giving and our growth and our bloom have purpose." A powerful message and reminder.
This post really speaks to me, the way you have connected our growth with perennials and all the seasons of life. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom here.
Lovely.
I like the idea of thinking of myself in mid-life as a perennial. I'm definitely not just the delicate flower that I was when I was younger. I like to think that I have more substance and durability than I did in my youth and that I still bloom (somewhere other than around my waist!) periodically.
Great job, Barb.
Perennials - What a perfect metaphor for life's transitions from girlhood to womanhood. This time of life, after motherhood and into the middle-age and empty nest, has been one of my most challenging transitions. You offer a little bit of your own wisdom, and I think I am not a "weed"; that maybe I do "enrich the garden". Your words are truly inspirational. Thanks, Barb.
Hey Barb, your lovely image is like home for me since I am planted for now in those same foothills! And the wonderful words you wove together fits us all here perfectly at this special time in our lives ~ thanks so much.
Fabulous post, Barbara!
Just stopping by to thank you for this timely blog. I'm 62 today and your words are true and uplifting, but I'm struggling with becoming older and trying to find my purpose. I'll keep your words close by and read them to remind me that I am a perennial...still strong and full of life!
"Our giving and our growth and our bloom have purpose." FABULOUS!
This is beautiful...in concept and image. I still want to be a wild rose. That was my fancy in my youth.
A way toward light... yes, that is it, exactly. What a beautiful post! I love the metaphor, and oh my, those foxgloves are just gorgeous!
I love your words, they come are quite timely. Recently I have felt bogged down with weeds and I am just remembering how to grow and bloom again.
Thanks for joining us Barbara! Really enjoyed your post. Your comment "We’re given the chance to become new again with each season of life." is so right on!! Well said!
Well expressed! There is so much to learn from gardening and observing nature. And noticing these things is what also seems to come with age.
Wonderful post Barbara, thanks for sharing
What a lovely thought to compare us to perennials. As a gardener I appreciate that - and I will remember it from now on. Thank you.
It means so much to me that this post resonated with each of you. Thank you so much for taking a moment to comment. And that garden was such an exquisite burst of life, it was nice to share it here!