Waiting for Sorbet

Jun 14, 2010 by Lancia E. Smith

Waiting is an intrinsic element of living a life in order. All deep happiness is preceded and underscored not only by periods of waiting but more importantly, by the deliberate practices of waiting. The waiting I am referring to is not idle or powerless, unfocused or irritated though for most of us those aspects must be faced and overcome. No, the waiting I am talking about is much more purposeful. This kind of waiting has threads of trust, respect, and vision inherent in it. It is the acknowledgment that there are origins and rhythms of life not directed by our own self will but by a greater will beyond ours to which we must bow and yield. The deepest kind of freedom comes from the willing surrender of our own will and trusting the deeper pace of life.

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Two years ago I bought four little peony crowns – each resembling something like a dried up mass of tangled worms. I planted them in pots because at the time I didn’t have space in the garden ready for them and beyond watering them regularly I did little else for them. Much to my joy and gratitude (not to mention, surprise) they survived the first winter and thrived in the pots. They cheerfully grew all that summer and went into dormancy at the expected time when autumn came. This winter (2010) was the longest I can ever remember in our area – darker, colder, more lingering snow than I have ever seen. I doubted the peonies would come through. But ever so sweetly, when spring finally did make her much longed for appearance so did the peonies. What a delight! By now my thoughts were collected about where they should go in the gardens for more permanent placement and the soil was ready. Each one got planted into well tilled garden soil, all in different parts of the gardens and were given a proper drink of Super Thrive (a product every gardener should always have on hand) – and remarkably there did not appear a single wilted leaf or drooping stem among them. Within weeks the first big buds showed up. Last week, after two plus years of waiting the first blossom opened. Sorbet, a beloved variety of peony, in all its beauty emerged quietly and without fanfare in the northern part of our potager (French word for kitchen garden).

In a modern day fairy tale this would be the happy ending. The original vision had come to fruition, effort had been made, a sacrifice of delayed gratification had been offered and the result triumphed over the long period of waiting. In life however the story arc is always longer and more complicated. In this case, the bloom occurred as I have told you, but it was followed by a violent rain and hail storm not half and hour after this photograph was taken. When I went out afterward to survey the damage, I found the single Sorbet blossom folded tightly shut. Was the single glimpse of the blossom worth the wait of two years? Would it open again or was that the rather anti-climatic end for this season?

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