Long Lasting Blooms

I love a vase full of Hydrangea blossoms — the bigger the bloom, the better. Below is a picture of a bunch of white hydrangeas I bought last week for a party I hosted over the weekend. I thought the white of the blooms were perfect for the season.  

However, I was hesitant to buy them. You see, I haven't had much luck with Hydrangeas in the past. The stems are super long and need to be trimmed. 99% of the time, the day after I cut the stems, I find the flowers wilted in the vase as if they were starved for water. Nothing is more disappointing than to see what was a big beautiful vase full of flowers, falling over in defeat.

I was shopping for my party, and I saw the beautiful Hydrangeas, and they seemed to call out to me as I went by. I decided to give them one more try before I gave up on them forever. As I grabbed up a bunch, I asked the florist what the secret was to keep them from wilting so quickly.

When she shared the secret with me, I was surprised, to say the least. She said, "Pull off all the leaves, cut to length, and take a sharp knife and scrape the end of the stem as if you were sharpening a stick. The flower needs lots of water, and the leaves take the water before it gets to the bloom. Scraping the ends allows more water to be absorbed by the flower itself."

Once at home, I eyed my beautiful bouquet, worried that the trimming, cutting, and scraping would be an affront to these beautiful flowers. Taking a deep breath, I cut, yanked, and scraped. I nestled the flowers in a delicate crystal vase of my mothers, crossed my fingers, and waited to see what happened.  

The day after the party, as I cleaned up the remnants of merriment in the living room, I marveled to see the mopheads of my Hydrangeas were full and happy as ever. In fact, it is now 5 days later, and they are as beautiful as the day I brought them home.

What struck me about this was how it parallels life. This certainly has been a year of shortening the length of my reach, bringing what I want to do and how I do it, into a more sustainable ratio.  

I have had to strip off the leaves in my life, the things I thought were essential to who I was, only to find out they were stealing other essentials from my life. And I certainly have had to sharpen my approach to things, narrowing my footprint so that what was most valuable got the attention it needed.

I love how metaphors show up in life. They help me understand how the trials, tribulations, and joys in life make me stronger. The metaphors make the lessons more relatable for me.  

2020 is just a week away! Are you ready? What can you cut back on in your life to make room for what's essential? Is there something you can strip off to help clear the way for what's necessary? How can you sharpen your focus so that you can drink in more of what restores you?

So many questions and here is the answer for them all:

Come set intentions for the new Decade!

Join me for the Create Your Life Vision Book Workshop, where we will devote an entire day to identifying who you want to be, what you want to do, and what you want to have in this new decade.  

A day of setting intentions for 2020 that we will use to create your Vision Book for the New Year.

Create Your Life Vision Book Workshop

Saturday 1/11/20

10 AM - 3 PM

$99 All Supplies Included

VBW2020 - $20 Coupon if you register before 12/31/19

Come and identify what you can cut, scrape, and pull from your life to create your best year yet!

With Purpose,

Sue

sue@piedpiperofpurpose.com

piedpiperofpurpose.com