Town Journal
Miracle Plant
By Kathy Miele
I was busy trimming the dead leaves off a very tired and neglected plant when Steven came into the kitchen.
"I think that plant has seen better days," he said as he looked over my shoulder. "Why don't you throw it out and get a new one?"
"I can't do that," I said as I took out the plant food and mixed up a batch. "This one has been with me for two years and I've almost killed it twice." I lovingly fed it and went back with my scissors. "Remember when we went away last spring?"
"Yeah."
"This was a beautiful lush plant that I forgot to water before we left and when we got back I thought it was dead."
"You've been working on this plant since last spring and it looks like this?"
"No, that was the first time I almost killed it," I reminded him. "I cut it back and set it outside for the summer and it came back and was just as beautiful as before!"
"So why does it look like this now?" He picked up a piece of dead leaf off its stem. "We haven't been away since last spring."
"I know. I guess I thought it was doing so well outside that I forgot to bring it in soon enough." I took one more look at it to make sure I'd trimmed all the dead pieces off before setting it in the middle of the table. "The temperature must have dropped too much overnight and the poor thing froze." I adjusted the pot so that it was getting the most of our kitchen's morning light.
"Every one of its leaves had drooped but when I tried to bring it inside to warm it up the leaves just shriveled up and fell off." I sadly shook my head at what I'd put this plant through because of my lack of a green thumb. "So that's when I almost killed it again."
Steven looked at the sorry little plant. "I don't think you've almost killed it this time. I think it's really dead."
"That's where you're wrong." I pushed the pot closer to him. "See the little leaves trying to pop out? It's going to let me try again!"
Steven looked a little closer. "OK, I can see it's trying to come back and I understand why you want to save it. But, while it looks that way, does it have to sit in the middle of our kitchen table?"
"That's where the best light is. Besides, it's like bringing the miracle of spring right into the house."
"The miracle of spring?"
"If I had planted a pot of crocus bulbs and I put it in the middle of the table, would you think watching the shoots breaking through the soil was a sorry look or a little hint that spring was on its way?"
Steven looked at me for a moment. "You really want this plant to live, don't you?"
I felt a sigh of relief come over me knowing he finally understood. "After what I've put this poor thing through I feel it's the least I can do."
