We're gonna bloom again.
This story reads like a post-apocalyptic movie with flashbacks and flash forwards, so bear with me… it has a great ending!
Flashback - March, 2020:
It was surreal. Unimaginable.
First the sporting events were all canceled. Followed by the schools. Then the businesses.
Including MY business.
I’ve been in business for nearly 14 years, and I couldn’t believe I was told that I couldn’t work.
I understood the reason. The virus was scary. We couldn’t defend ourselves.
I have friends who are essential, so they got to go to work. I had to stay home.
I didn’t know what to do with myself. Or my kids. Or my dogs. All I could think was “let me outta here!”
I wasn’t feeling good. I was scared. Would I ever be able to do laser treatments again?
After a few days of staying at home, Pat and I visited the office to water the plants, check the mail, and post the sign on the door “Closed until further notice.”
I went to the back room (the laser room that most of you have been in), and went behind the curtain to check for laundry, and in the corner of the room, up on the window sill, I saw a miracle (cue the angels and bright lights).
Flashback – Fall 2019:
A friend had given me a beautiful Orchid plant, which many of you probably noticed on our front desk. When the last bud fell off in November, I asked friends what I should do with it. Three out of three people told me to toss it; that it would never bloom again.
I stashed the poor plant on the windowsill, sometimes remembering to water it, but usually forgetting.
Fast Forward again to March, 2020:
Back to the miracle! When I glanced at the corner where the orchid was being ignored, I was SHOCKED to see there were tiny buds on a few of the stems.
I shouted for Pat to come back, and when he saw the orchid he casually said, “gonna bloom again.” He, of course, hadn’t been warned of any other outcome.
As the weeks passed, we settled into a new routine, and for us, it did get easier.
My body and mind got used to sleeping in, staying up late, and watching movies in the middle of the day. And eating bad foods. And baking banana bread with chocolate chips, as well as the Doubletree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies, and making Wendy’s chocolate Frosties.
Fast forward five weeks – April, 2020:
We went by the office once a week. Each week the buds were still there, getting a tiny, little bit bigger (or at least I imagined they were).
We planned to reopen on May 1, then received the news that it wasn’t going to happen yet. I went back to my original scared mode from March. I tried not to listen to the news, and I very deliberately started to ignore the Facebook frenzy, but the idea that this could go on indefinitely was scary.
My thoughts become a recording like this: “OK, this is real. I can’t not work and I can’t not make money forever. I have kids who want to go to college (wait, will they get to graduate from high school in a few years? Will they ever get to go back to a real classroom with walls and white boards and desks and a cafeteria and friends?). Should I get a job? Should Pat get a job? Oh wait, there are a gazillion people suddenly on unemployment now because there are no jobs. Oh my, what are we going to do?”
Fast forward to last week:
I stopped by the office to change the voice mail because it said we were going to be opening on May 1st, which was no longer the case. I also needed to get the mail and water the plants.
And Oh My God.
The Orchid was in full bloom! And it was beautiful! (cue angels again)
Almost immediately, I felt a message from the Heavens tell me “you’re coming back, Beth. You’re gonna bloom again.” And so we are!
We reopened Friday, May 8, 2020. And so far, it's been aMAYzing!
Clients are calling. They're coming in. They're supporting us. They're thrilled to be doing something outside of the house, something just for themselves.
I wanted to share this story because I want you to believe it for yourself too, and your finances, and your job, and your kids. And for this state, this country, and this world.
We’re ALL gonna bloom again!
