Against All Odds

The orchid in my office has bloomed again. This is the third blossoming of the orchid during my watch. I had given the plant up for dead and in fact had grown tired of it and stopped caring for the orchid entirely until it started showing growth last November. Six months have passed and once again the gentle white blossoms have appeared. Once again I am amazed at the beauty of the flower, the yellow center flecked with red, the hint of purple on the back of the petals. I don't keep many personal items in my office - a picture of the Kat, a small cloth box I won at an office party, a Snoopy keychain given to me by a coworker - that's about it. So the orchid has become part of my office persona, an ornament to soften the space, a bright point of conversation, a glimmer of peace amid the craziness that is the working day.