I have seen very little sunshine over the past week. It has been extremely cold, with unending grey skies. I’ve been staring out the window of the car most of the day, missing the colors of the garden. Even grey skies are sweeter when there is a snowy-white Paperwhite or sunny little Daffodil smiling back at you. This week, it’s just grey….all-day grey, which sounds more like a color of paint from Sherman Williams than the current color of the sky.
I suppose it doesn’t help that I just dropped my youngest off at Interlochen Boarding School, the farthest point from Texas she could go before she hit Canada. Our family jokes that Canada wouldn’t take her, so she chose the upper peninsula of Michigan. All-day grey is not just what I am seeing, but what I am feeling….a dull grey splattered with hints of bright, vivid hues of excitement and overwhelming joy at watching my daughter live her dream.
My son used to want to splatter-paint my music studio. Literally, he wanted to take a paint brush and splatter colors over the boring, plain background of the house. He actually wanted to splatter-paint his room as well, but of-course I said no. Who splatter-paints a house anyway? This isn’t 1988, for gosh sakes!
But honestly, that is really what this all-day grey needs. Grey with splattered colors of life’s exciting moments.
I used to wonder why grey moments in life were even created or allowed. Why have Seasons? Why not live eternally in the blissful moments of the Spring or Summer Southern Bulb bloom, or the Fall Oxblood Lily Season? Or why not bottle up the fragrance of the Lilac of the Peony to carry with you forever? Why not stand eternally at the wedding alter for the entire marriage? Or why not hold your babies in your arms, keeping them small, for all time? Why do Seasons change and colors fade from vivid, blissful moments of happiness to the all-day greys?
Colorful moments in life are meaningless and can’t be fully appreciated unless you experience the shades of the all-day greys. Seasons change, and so do the colors of life. In spite of the winter weather and the long road trip just to say a good-bye, I honestly wouldn’t change a single thing about this week. I have loved every minute of it…even amidst the shades of all-day grey.
I am not sure if the sun will come out today and peek it’s face out through the grey landscape. There is a lot of loss happening right now in your gardens, and in life too. Many travelers have lost their lives to horrific, icy collisions. Many have lost century old trees and beloved, cherished plants and entire gardens that have taken decades to mature. There is a lot of loss in the midst of the ice storms and freezing winter weather. All loss is hard….including loss in our gardens. I can only hope and pray that the shades of the all-day greys contain the splattered colors that are still in your midst. Perhaps it is a remnant of flower that still grows inspite of the weather, or maybe a wonderful memory that brings a smile to your face. The best part of the shades of all-day grey is that it is only for a season. Get ready because the colors of Spring are just around the corner.
Stay warm, my friends.