Blooming

I had to take a test after work today. The exam covered a bunch of tedious nerve-wracking computer related stuff and I was dreading what I thought would probably be a good two hours in the library when I encountered a tulip magnolia tree in full bloom on campus. The photo I post here is not of the actual tree I saw, but the blooms are identical, as big as my fist, and so riotously gorgeous that they did not seem real, not the least bit.

I live in a land of many blooming trees, most notably (I think), the dogwoods and redbuds, but this tree today was a totally unexpected pick-me-up. An early bloomer. The tree drained the dread from me on my way to the test and lifted me out of my post-test droopiness when I passed it again on the way back to the car (yes, indeed, two hours later).

Breathtaking.

Thing is, a good portion of the tree, what looked to have been the very center of it in fact, had obviously fallen victim to the ice. Half the trunk was a broken, naked shard pointing jaggedly at the sky, all that remained of the foundation that used to hold the center most branches. All around its ruined middle the tree had gone about it's business, though. Blooming merrily along.

I soaked in the lesson.