A Persistent Peony

Today I am grateful for my husband Darcy and the difference he makes in my life in so many ways. I am also grateful for family history. It can be painful, but it also brings simple joys. 

This is a picture of a peony blooming. We have it planted in our backyard. It didn't bloom at all last year, and this year we were concerned because of the extreme winter we had. But this one in the picture was just one of several blooming flowers we were treated to.

Here is the story of this peony plant, as my husband recalls it. His paternal grandmother, Alta, wasn't a big flower person, but she planted three peonies under the picture window of the house she and Darcy's Grandpa Matt lived in when Darcy was a teenager in the early 1980's.  Alta died in 1995. The peonies kept coming up, but Matt didn't take care of them. They were persistent all on their own. When Darcy's grandpa moved to assisted living in the mid-2000's, the house was sold and actually moved to Nebraska.

In May of 2006, on a visit to the farm, Darcy noticed the peonies coming up through the thistles and weeds. He had nothing to dig them up with or carry them in, but decided that he would bring a shovel and a pail on our next visit and if the peony was still alive, we would bring it back here and transplant it. We returned that August and the plant was barely hanging on. We brought it back to our house and planted it.

The next spring, it had one flower bloom. Darcy says that was his grandma saying hi. Since then it has had good years and tough years, just like the rest of us. But it is a nice reminder of Darcy's family and the plucky persistence of living things that want to keep on growing.