When my dad died five years ago, my friend Will gave me this orchid. I have killed every plant I've ever owned, except this one. And it usually blooms about once a year. The last time it bloomed, it sent out a long stalk of flowers horizontally. But I thought it should be more vertical. I tried to coax the stalk upward.
Instead, it snapped off in my hands, and I was left knowing it wouldn't bloom again for months. Today I noticed a little stalk that should turn into flowers in the next few weeks.
But I've learned my lesson. Some things aren't meant to be forced.
I'm going to try to remember that next time I'm trying to force a story to go into a direction it doesn't want to grow. Sometimes you have to allow it to bloom just the way it is.
