Farm Fresh Blog

Other Half bought me these flowers because I had a crappy day. 

It helped. It certainly helped. 

I love sunflowers. Years ago, when I began my work with CSI and got a firsthand look at the ugly side of life, I tended to get really depressed. (Cuz, well . . .  it just sucks to see that much Death.) So I started buying myself flowers. I would buy them at the grocery store each week. They brightened my kitchen. They brightened my day.

One afternoon I found a really twisted sunflower in a batch of perfect sunflowers. I had bought the arrangement in a hurry and not noticed this weird one. After I unwrapped the flowers, it stood out like a sore thumb. I considered discarding that one because it ruined the bouquet, but at the time, I'd seen so much Death that Life, any life, was very important to me. So I stuck it in a vase of water with the rest of the flowers and put them in the window. What happened after that forever changed the way I looked at the world.

To my amazement, the next morning I couldn't find the weird flower. Every flower in the vase was now facing the same direction--toward the sun. It was the first time I realized that sunflowers, even cut flowers in a vase, will continue to move toward the sun.

I stood by the window and followed that line of reasoning for a moment. It had great philosophical implications for someone who saw so much darkness. It changed me. I still love sunflowers for their simple, country charm, but now I also love them for their wisdom. 

Yesterday sucked, because sometimes Life just sucks. But "tomorrow is another day," and tomorrow is here now. 

My dear friend and co-worker, Fergus Fernandez, gave me these because I had a sucky day. They helped too. They certainly helped. Thanks Fergus!