The Tulips
All afternoon I had been having this thought that what I wanted for dinner was green bean casserole, you know, the one with the french fried onions on top. I don’t make it the usual way with canned soup, but I make a creamy sauce and pour in on the green beans, top it with those french friend onions in the can, and bake it. We only have it once a year for Thanksgiving, but it’s one of my favorite dishes. And I was very clear this is what I wanted for dinner.
I knew there was half a can of french fried onions left over from Thanksgiving, so when I got home I pulled a bag of organic green beans from the freezer and looked around for the french fried onions. They were nowhere to be found.
“Did you eat the french fried onions?” I asked my husband, Larry.
“Yes,” he replied, sheepishly. “There weren’t very many left, so I just ate them.” But he hadn’t told me, so I expected they were still available.
“OK,” I said, showing my disappointment. I went back to the kitchen, wondering if I still wanted green beans without the french fried onions.
A few minutes later, Larry came in and said, “I could go to the store right now and get more french fried onions for you.”
“I’ll come with you,” I said. “I want to buy some flowers.” The spray of miniature white roses I had in a vase on my desk had wilted that very day.
We drove to the store and found the french fried onions, then went to the flower department. Now this supermarket has an irregular supply of flowers, but this particular night they had an abundance of flowers! All sorts of flowers of all different colors. Larry and I picked out some flowers we liked and headed for the checkout.
On the way to the checkout, not in the flower department, I suddenly saw a bucket of tulips. Now tulips are my favorite flower. I love them because they are so alive. They continue to grow in the vase, their stems lengthening and twisting into this ever-changing, self-determined work of art. And here was a bucket filled with very fresh tulips in five spring colors!
“Tulips!” I exclaimed. “Oh, tulips!” As a spirit I was filled with joy. I handed Larry the flowers we had already picked and started rummaging through the bucket. Did I want yellow or red or pink or purple or white? All the colors, thank you! I picked five bunches and sent Larry to put the other flowers back.
We went home, and after putting all my tulips in a glass vase on my desk, I made my green beans with cream and pecorino romano cheese and french fried onions and baked it in the oven and ate the whole thing myself and was thoroughly satisfied.
As I continue to become more aware and able as a spirit, life is like this more and more. I intend something, like, “Get flowers” and I what I get is not just “flowers” but a riotous multi-colored abundant bouquet of my favorite flowers. I love this!
