Deep Thought: Tulips

It is the season for tough times.

Last night I was on a family e-mail from a relative dealing with workplace budget cuts that may very well result in her longtime job being reduced or eliminated ... familiar language in this climate, unfortunately. After explaining the ups and downs of her last couple weeks, this paragraph:

"In the midst of all of this uncertainty, [my husband] is my focus and centers me. He is unfailingly supportive and will work with me in any direction this all may lead. He sent me gorgeous orange tulips, streaked with purple - in a vase yesterday for my desk.....every time I look at them, I smile.....that is a good thing as having a smile on my face has been difficult lately."

I'm a sucker for stories like this: when a friend or a partner or a lover knows the small thing to do that keeps someone's boat floating for another day. Sometimes, in those depths of March before the first day of Spring, it could be tulips.