Bloom Where You're Planted

Years ago, there was a local artist who had a local business who eventually made it big in the world with her cute whimsical drawings and fun, cute, or inspiring quotes. Right up my quote collecting alley. She started out with greeting cards and moved onto painted kitchen things like cookie jars, pitchers, plates, etc. She eventually published a magazine of her cuteness, called Home Companion, which I devoured each time a new issue arrived in my mailbox. Each issue had a page of paper dolls, and I spent hours laminating them and cutting them out for Lauren to play with. I think I still have them somewhere. I know paper dolls are kind of silly now, but I remembered spending hours making and playing with them when I was young, and I envisioned my daughter doing the same. When Lauren was 2, I decorated her new “big girl” room using many of the ideas I’d seen over the years in Home Companion. She had a store at a mall in St. Louis, and that was my go-to place when I had a bit of extra money to spend on something completely unnecessary and frivolous. I even had my kitchen decorated with her framed prints and some of her pottery. It was pricey, and I only had a few pieces, but I loved them all. I sold most of them at a garage sale a few years ago, and I kept only one, my favorite, a pitcher. It sits atop my kitchen cabinets.

Perhaps this artist is recognizable…her name is Mary Engelbreit. I haven’t bought anything in years, not even a card. She stopped publishing her magazine, and I heard several years ago that her store at the mall closed. I honestly hadn’t given her a thought in years. Then yesterday morning, I was reading one of my favorite blogs. I’ve talked about it before, it’s called “Enjoying the Small Things,” written by a young mom in Florida with 2 little girls, one with Down’s Syndrome. She was writing about all of the company she has had lately and how they had all just left to go home. She wrote about how she loves having out of state guests because taking them to do the touristy stuff reminds her to stop and enjoy all of the unique things about where she lives that she often takes for granted and maybe doesn’t think about on a regular basis. Every few sentences, she showed a couple of beautiful photographs that made me wish I had a swamp to take a tour of.

And then she said it. “Bloom where you're planted.” That used to be one of my favorite Mary Engelbreit quotes. Many years ago, I even painted it on a flower pot that sat in my kitchen window with an African violet in it. I hadn’t thought of that quote in years either, but yesterday, it made me stop and think about what it really means. And here is what I came up with. Mind you, these are some really scattered thoughts, that is why I put them in list form. Maybe they will be easier to follow that way.

*Life just is never easy. Well, not for many people anyway. And I’m insanely jealous of those for who it is. I have always tried to tell myself that things aren’t always as they may appear, even for those who seem to live a “charmed” life. Even Mary Engelbreit who has spent her life drawing and painting things that are happy and inspirational--years ago, she wrote in the editorial section of her magazine about her young adult son who committed suicide.

*Life for me has not been easy at all the past couple of years. All of you who I invited to read this blog know some of the story, but not all of it as for the most part, I really do try to focus my energies on the positive, good things about my life. That is why I even started this blog as you all know…to force me to focus on them and not the bad things. Some days I am better at that than others.

*I truly do know that I have so much to be thankful for. I know that so many people who have dealt with the same things we have have not fared nearly as well as we have. But still…my life has changed in so many ways over the past two years…*I* have changed in so many ways over the past two years. Some of the ways I have changed are good…most are not so good. I am trying to change that. I feel like the past two years have been a huge turning point, and I don’t want all of the changes to turn me into a person that I don’t like very much. Again, it’s hard to not do that.

*Even though my life has taken many twists and turns, I still need to make the best of everything I can. I need to bloom where I am planted. Even the most barren dessert sand can still produce some beautiful blooming plants that would not bloom anywhere else.

*Bloom Where You Are Planted reminds me of the name of this blog…I guess dancing in the rain is kind of the same thing.

*This “bloom where you are planted” quote gave me some reinforcement when I need it the most…some reinforcement to do my very best to not let the circumstances of life that I can’t really control take over and control me. Coming across it again after so many years has inspired me to take control of the things I can and let go of those I can’t. I used to be very good at that, and hopefully, I can be again.

*I found this picture on Google images…I used to have this exact print framed and hanging in my kitchen. I even painted some Mary Engelbreit styled flowers on one corner of the frame. I am going to print it, put it in a small frame, and set it in my kitchen window so I can be reminded of it when I am tempted to give up and run away and change my name.




Yesterday, I decided to put this bloom where you are planted theory to the test and see if it really could change my mood, and it actually worked. It’s no secret that I hate winter, and yesterday was winter at its worst. However, I did my very best to enjoy our snowed-in day. It’s the first time in a while that I remember the weather being so bad that I couldn’t go out. I tried to enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature and took some awesome photos. Rachel and I baked. Lauren had a friend over, and all three girls wanted to make bracelets and I helped them. They made a huge mess, but there was lots of laughter, and it was fun to share something I love doing with my girls. I felt a warm feeling in my heart when after the bracelet making was over, all three girls were wrapped in blankets on the couch happily passing around a big bag of M & M’s and laughing together over a tv show. I played a couple of mean games of Sorry. By last night, I really was content and knew that I had done the best I could to get the most out of my day.

I know I haven’t been writing much lately. It was pointed out to me by a friend that I’ve been a slacker, and I have been. To be honest, I have started to feel kind of silly for writing here. I really do enjoy it, but I feel like I’m just writing to myself. Which really is okay I’ve decided. I have no idea who, if anyone reads this, and it doesn’t really matter. I have sort of mixed emotions about that. On the one hand, I was choosy about who I told about this blog, and only a handful of people know about it. On the other hand, sometimes, I do think it would be nice to be one of those “popular” bloggers who has tons of readers and people offering all kinds of witty comments. On the other hand…well, I don’t have three hands obviously…the thought of people I don’t know reading my innermost thoughts, most of them dumb, is kind of frightening too. I guess I can’t have it all, huh? So, I have decided to keep writing for no other reason than because I enjoy it.

It’s another snow day here. I will admit, I am sick of snow days. I think I jinxed myself a couple of weeks ago when I wrote here that I enjoy a snow day once in a while. We are now on our 7th one of the year, and I think I would bloom much brighter and prettier if I were planted somewhere on the beach. For now, I will have to be like a crocus and bloom in the snow.