THE DAY THE LILY'S DIED

                                              

 It’s the mid point in September as I write this and already I sense a change in the winds that blow softly across our lake. Last night, I noticed, it was dark earlier than usual. I used to retire for the night when it got dark but last night I looked at my watch and said, “It’s dark all right, but its way to early. You’ll sleep your life away.” But the real turning point for me comes in early fall and it’s the behavior of the Day Lily’s. They seem to be the last of the summer flowers blooming that decorate our yard even though they were the first to poke their heads out of the cold ground in the spring. They’re not that pretty of a flower but they are so tenacious and predictable and they have bloomed for a long time now. But even the lily’s have their life span and I fear the time will be soon when they too will go away. Then the leaves on the trees will change once again and all too soon snowflakes will fall and we will have to wait once more for the lily’s to appear.

How many times in my seventy some years have I witnessed this theater of seasons and how many times has it not had an air of sadness to it? Oh there were times in my life when I paid scant attention to it, because I was so caught up in the day-to-day activities of working and raising a family. Or I was young and full of foolish ideas or lovesick beyond my wildest expectations but that has all changed and so has my demeanor. I was like the lily’s way back then. I too took a long time to bloom and when I did, I showed off my wares for half a lifetime but then they too wilted and it was time for me to rest and reevaluate my life.

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blest. The soul uneasy and confined from home. Rests and expatiates in a life to come.’

Alexander Pope wrote this in “An essay of man.” To show us that there is always hope, even in the depths of winter. For me that hope comes from past experience and knowing that some day, the lily’s will bloom again. Knowing that I’m not all used up and when care is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must but don’t you quit. I no longer use or need the talents I once acquired and mentioned before. You see I’ve developed a new sense of being, a new talent, a new love and a new me. It’s within all of us to do that, we only need to try.

 Many seniors have been in an early winter rut for far to long. They thought retirement was quitting time and that resting and dreaming is the norm, when its time to be moving on to bigger and better things. Yes lily’s have lived and died in our lives for all of our lifetimes. Way to many Lily’s, and some of them made up of wives and husbands, children and friends. We must make good use of every day the good lord gives us or waste it. So if metaphorically speaking, it’s October in your life or even late November and if you feel that your three quarters home from beginning to end, remember this. Keep your home fires going and maybe-- just maybe, the Lily’s will come back to bloom again.