Spring Has Totally Sprung

On Wednesday morning, when I left for work, there were no blooming tulips. When I turned into the driveway last night, I was blown away by tulips everywhere, like magic.



John loved tulips. Every year a Pentagon colleague of his, who belonged to a men's garden club in Bethesda, would bring around a flyer advertising a bulk purchase of tulip bulbs, imported directly from Holland. John would order hundreds, and then would offer to the Oratorio Society/Washington Chorus auction an auction item consisting of 100 tulip bulbs and the planting thereof. When fall arrived there was a big bulb planting day at the lucky winner's home, accompanied by much beer and jollity. Various friends and family members would be called upon to join in the fun. The end of the day signaled for the homeowners a memory of a fun day with a man full of joie de vivre, and the anticipation of gorgeous blooms in the spring. I've been told tulips don't continue multiplying and blooming forever, but I choose to believe there are still lawns in the Washington Metropolitan Area that bloom with John's tulips every spring.

When I was planning his memorial service and the funeral director asked me what kind of flowers I wanted, of course I replied "tulips!" It didn't matter to me that the service was occurring at the end of July and nowhere in the world were tulips in season. For John, I was going to have two huge urns filled with tulips. I think those two arrangements cost me $300, but it was worth every penny to have this tribute to his tulip planting in place.

So Happy Spring! The tulips are out in Northeastern Ohio.