Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Magnolias and Mammaw


I have researched trees, and visited a local nursery, and have come to the conclusion (90%) that I am going to plant a Magnolia tree in the spring.

While I was contemplating over what type of tree to plant I realized I wanted one that bloomed. I love the smell and view of a tree in bloom. Granted they are beautiful like that for only a short time, but while they are in bloom they are the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

They kind of remind me of my life. I don't need to be flashy. I don't need to be patted on the back all the time. I love my job. I love that I am in the background making my boss look good. I love knowing that he relies on me day in and day out to keep him on track. But every once in a while... I get a chance to break out of the mundane and really shine. To show everyone that I am not just there... that I can make a splash too.

What do I do? I am an executive assistant. I am the "secretary" for the CEO. I say "secretary" because that is what outsiders see me as. My boss and I know different. When I took two and a half weeks off work for personal time and went back all I heard from everyone in the building was "Thank God you are back. Now he can get back to normal", "He was lost without you".
Even the other girl in my office said "There were days he would walk in here, look at your desk, sigh, and walk back out. I was beginning to get a complex!" and then we would laugh.
His wife saw me at an engagement the day I went back and she leaned over and said "Are you really back Abby?" I nodded and smiled. She said "Thank God! I couldn't stand another night of him telling me how much he missed you and couldn't wait until you got back and things got done".

I joke and use the line from My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding, where the mother says "He may be the head, but I am the neck. And the head will move whatever way the neck wants it to." (or something to that effect).

That is me. To outsiders I am just a tree. My boss is the one that matters. The one they want to get to see.
To those that know me and see me all the time I am that beautiful tree full of bloom. To others, depending on when/how they see me I am just a tree like any other.

So I knew I wanted to be/plant a blooming tree. As I walked around the nursery I saw a magnolia. I also saw Ash and Beech that interested me, but that Magnolia kept pulling me back. I came home and meditated on it a bit and as I thought about that Magnolia I saw my grandmother's face coming in and out of focus. My grandmother is dead, so I was not sure what the reason for seeing her was. After a while I realized why she was there when I saw her house in my mind.  She had two beautiful magnolia trees in the front yard.

I remember climbing in them when I was a child. I remember sitting under them and digging in the dirt with a spoon just to see what I could see. I remember playing in the leaves as I raked them, messing them up only to have to rake again. I remember watching the lizards crawl up them and the day I was brave enough to finally pick one up by its tail. I remember the katydids and their husks on the trees.  I remember the day I sat on the screened front porch and watched with her as the locus swarm came through.
I remembered having my Mammaw back with me because she and I were very close.

I was so excited when I learned that magnolias could grow up here in the northeast. My grandmother lived in Texas, a much warmer climate.

So unless something drastic changes... I will be planting a magnolia tree in the spring at the hospital where I work.

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