Bloom Where You Are Planted

It’s April 1st, a holiday weekend, celebrating Easter and Passover, we’ve just had a beautiful blue moon, and apparently spring is in full swing, according to my allergies.
I’ve packed up all of the snow decorations in my home, boxed them and put them away until next year.
I’ve cleaned, deodorized, changed sheets, duvets, done laundry, changed up decor, candle scents, repotted plants, and decorated for spring, including having personally crafted a new sign for the front door, in vibrant colors, complete with mini butterflies.
Costumes are coming in, left and right, at the studio, and I’ve already steamed, puffed, and tweaked lots of them for performances. Glitter is on the floor and in the air, (and in my hair). Friends are posting their kids’ graduation photos and college commitments for the fall. Grad students are posting accepted internship placements, numerous religious rights of passage pics are all over Facebook, and stores are all a buzz with formal ware for dances and proms, as well as beach themed decor everywhere.
I’m unsure when this really happened, as we, of course, are expecting more “unseasonal snow” in the next couple of days, and, as tradition has been, we’re usually on our way down south, in a car for too many hours to connect with extended family. However, things have changed….so many things…from the ages of our children to whom is around, to whom is no longer on this earth. It just wouldn’t be the same.
But, this time of year is also a time of cleansing, rebirth, and new traditions, and one that I had to adjust to and embrace, wholeheartedly.
I’m amazed at the growth in such a short time…
Change certainly brings growth, but, it does take time. I tell my campers and their parents that this is called “adjustment”. No one is exempt from adjustment, it’s just that each person does it in their own time. Some people move on quickly, whether or not it is healthy for them…they just move on to the next scenario and brush the rest under the rug. Some agree to deal with the task at hand, and some of us need to explore, taste, and process, sort of like dipping a toe in the water to test whether or not the water is fine.
I’ve realized that I go beyond that….I process and reprocess to see if things will actually stand the test of time, but I’m an original. I guess that makes me sort of like….”Velveeta”!
You know, that over processed cheese that comes in a box, but it’s always there, within reach. It’s resilient and great for melting; It can even create some really quick and tasty meals and snacks.
Is this a bad thing? I really don’t think so. Though I’m not huge on over processed foods, and tend to go the more natural and often, organic route, I’m forever reminded that life is a balance. Life is a song. Life is a journey. Life is for growing.
And, often, you need to grow where you are planted.
Sometimes, we end up exactly where we are meant to be, even if it is not where we have chosen to be.
How many stories do we hear about programs and schools not accepted to, trains missed, flights cancelled, roads closed, events that cause us to run late, only to hear of something more negative occurring that we were then NOT a part of because of an earlier mishap?
I judge traffic differently these days…and wonder if I will be blessed enough to find out later, why I am not where I had hoped to be. And lately, life is no different…the two hoped for homes, lost to other people, previously to finding this one that is perfectly suited to me, with a different feel; more spacious, more light, closer to the town I was looking to move to, and creating a whole different perspective, geography, and new start.
The cleaning out of things, to make room for less things or even a few new things to reinvent who I am and whom I used to be.
The resurfacing of old friends, brought into closer proximity whether it be physical or spiritual. The reconnecting through shared experiences, the lifting (and schlepping) and the support. The finding of new places, new foods, new laughs shared, and also finding out that things will be even better and more than okay.
The seasons change, and change can be very, very scary, but we also need to remember that after the cold of winter, flowers bud, and bloom, and often, these blooms are much bigger than the season before. So maybe, just maybe,  we need to learn to bloom where we are planted.