My sweet Son #2
Brought me some flowers
For Mother’s Day.
Petunias.
To be planted
For some seasonal color.
It was so thoughtful.

They sat outside
Because it was a busy week
And I lacked time
And energy to delegate the planting
To someone more responsible than me,
They promptly died
From the hot sun
And from lack of water.
I felt terrible about it.

So a few weeks later,
When he cheerfully
Presented me with
Some replacement flowers,
I enlisted my youngest son
To help me keep them
Alive and watered.
Because evidently
I cannot be trusted with plants.

By the time I planted them
A couple of days later,
Some looked better than others.
One in particular,
Looked mostly dead.
Like Wesley
In the middle of the movie
The Princess Bride.
But eternally optimistic,
And with determination
That can only come
From Mom Guilt,
To keep these from the same fate
As the Mother’s Day flowers,
I planted them anyway.

I really do love plants.
Even though
The only ones
That typically survive
At my house
Are the low-maintenance kind,
That thrive on neglect.

In fact,
My kids know this.
And Son #2
Recently told me
About a conversation he had
With someone at work.
He said that
They told him
How hard it was
For them to keep their orchids alive.
And he was so confused
Because he knew
It couldn’t be THAT hard.
After all,
They are a staple
In our house.
And we laughed as he told me:
“Even YOU can keep them alive!
So I told them,
You’re probably watering them
Too much.
Maybe try to neglect them.
That seems to be working
For my mom’s orchids….”

Anyway,
Fast forward
To a few days later
And imagine my delight
When I looked outside
And there was a petunia bloom
On that mostly dead plant!
It had managed to produce
A single blossom!

Upon my discovery,
I exclaimed the great news
To my youngest,
Who was sitting
At the dining table.
He didn’t share my surprise.

Instead,
He smiled knowingly
And informed me:
That’s because
I gave them compliments!

I giggled:
You did?
What did you tell them?

He said:
I told them,
“You look good
And you’re gonna do great!”

I love him.

Then later
He asked me
If my sister
Also gives compliments
To her plants.
Because last week
We were at her house,
And he must have noticed
That her plants are thriving –
Inside and outside.
And he knows she loves plants.
Even the kind
That require maintenance.

So I have been wondering
If she compliments them.
And it’s not like
There’s no way to know.
I could just call her and ask.

But I’m pretty sure
I already know the answer.
Because what I do know
Is that
My sister compliments
And encourages
Her kids
And her family
And her friends.
I’ve heard her do it.
And often,
I’m a recipient
Of them.
She’s such a great human.

And in my own experience,
I’ve noticed that
How I speak to myself
And my family
Matters a lot.
The trajectory of
An entire day
Can be changed
With a compliment
Encouragement
Compassion
Or conversely,
An insult
Or hurtful words
Offered in anger.

And I imagine
That just before
Each of us embarked on this journey
To earth,
Our heavenly parents
Hugged us tightly
And said
Some version of:
“You look good
And you’re gonna do great!”

So that may be why
I often recognize God’s voice,
Behind the compliments
And encouraging words
In my head.
Echoes of their words.

And so,
In case you feel
Like a mostly-dead petunia plant
On a forgotten porch
On a summer day
Or if not
And you just need a reminder:

You look good
And you’re gonna do great!