The Hellebores are in bloom again!

I can't write this post without thinking about Katherine Hepburn's immortal words, "The calla lilies are in bloom again!" Our hellebores caught me by surprise in our first winter here. I'd never seen them before and one day I went out to the freezer on the back porch and there were white and purple papery petals coming up in a small patch of green next to the porch. Also known as "Lenten roses" for the period of time in which they bloom, they are a long-lasting, shade-loving flower that emerges in late winter here in Kentucky and will bloom for most of March. Quite extraordinary!

"The calla lilies are in bloom again. Such a strange flower, suitable to any occasion. I carried them on my wedding day, and now I place them here in memory of something that has died...Have you gathered here to mourn, or are you here to bring me comfort?...I've learned something about love that I never knew before. That I never knew before. You speak of love when it's too late. Help should come to people when they need it. Why are we always so helpful to each other when it's no longer any use?...This is my home. This is where I belong. Love was in this house once, and for me it will always be here, nowhere else...One should always listen closely when people say goodbye because sometimes they're, they're really saying farewell."  ~ Stage Door, 1937

In the past few weeks, I've thought a lot about Lent––it is quite late this year with Easter being on April 24. Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, is tomorrow and Ash Wednesday will be on March 9. I want to do some necessary restructuring in many realms, including domestic as well as spiritual. I also want to give up some things, especially food-related ones, for the first time in my life. I was raised Presbyterian and confirmed as an Episcopalian and in all of these years I've never taken the 40 days of Lent very seriously. This year I feel the need to do so and to extend that into my immediate family as its matriarch-in-training. I'll keep you informed of the journey. It's also about time: taking things day by day and trying to slow it down. I find it is flying past me and I need to try and grab it. I think this might be somewhat perimenopausal and that I'm really staring at my 50th year in its plump and squishy double-chinned face. I'm learning to go with these necessary revisions––and plans for revisions.

In the meantime, "the hellebores are in bloom again!" And in our "Isn't it ironic?" department, I just discovered that I've written about hellebores before, with the same photo, in fact, over at my other blog, In the Pantry. You can read that entry here. It was even written last year on this exact day, Monday, March 8 (well, almost, but same DAY and a day away from the same date). Talk about time fleeting but sometimes staying exactly the same.

You come back when you're ready!

Catherine