's motd Sat April 12, 2008

[Guest guest]

THE RED ORCHID

Saturday, 12 April 2008

About ten years ago, I went to an orchid store not far from my home. And there in the middle of the store was a Cattleya orchid plant. It's also known for being the "prom" orchid. If you've ever received a corsage with an orchid, it was probably a Cattleya orchid. It is the largest of the orchids and, I'd say, the most beautiful.

I walked up to this orchid plant, looked at the bloom and almost passed out. I had never seen a red orchid before. I've seen them in white, purple, even a dark eggplant color that was almost black. But I'd never seen a glorious red orchid blossom before. Oh, I just had to have one of them! I bought my the plant and took it right home. It was so beautiful that I had to give my new orchid a name. I called her Caly. Now on it's own, the orchid plant, to me, in not really very pretty. But as it grows, these little pods are born. They look like little teeny bananas at first, about two inches long. And everyday they just keep growing. It's like seeing a scene from a production of that Broadway hit, Little Shop Of Horrors.I nurtured my orchid as if she were a little baby. I took her to my bedroom when I went to sleep. I brought her into the bathroom when I took a shower. (Orchids love that moisture from the shower mist.) I took her to the kitchen and had breakfast with Caly. And twice a day, I'd put her outside so she could soak up a little sun. Meanwhile, the two-inch pods she had when I bought her had grown to four, then six-inch pods.

I was sitting in the kitchen one day making my phone calls at the butcher block as the first of her pods had almost magically peeped open! I remember I was talking to a lady in Syracuse and I almost feel off the stool as I saw my beautiful Caly suddenly get even more beautiful! The color was that of a Chanel red lipstick. And when the sun's rays hit Caly, well, her colors just danced!In a few days, all six of Caly's blossoms had opened up. They were my little red children. Oh, I'll never forgot Caly. Two weeks ago, I went to a garden store called & Hawken. (Have you heard of them? They are fabulous!) I went there to buy an orchid plant for my assistant. All of the ladies working in the store were so very nice. I shared with them the story of Caly. The store manager told me, "You know, , we have an orchid broker in Santa Barbara and if anyone can find another Caly for you, it would be him."And a few days later, sure enough, I got myself another beautiful red-blooming orchid plant I've named Lea. And just like Caly, Lea has six pods just waiting to burst open for me again. I hope I'm sitting at the butcher block to see the first of them pop open in a few days!

Nurturing is a wonderful quality to possess. And what better season to practice your nurturing skills than right now? Spring is just the perfect season for nurturing. You can nurture everything around you and it will grow.What are you nurturing right now?Love,