Perseverance

Cold arrives here in the high country of the Rocky Mountains in surges these days, leaving the wildflowers empty and dry, their cheerful colors only a memory…with one exception. Pictured here is our final, defiant clump of petunias that refuse to surrender to the frost and wind and driving rain of autumn.

Last spring, my husband and I planted six clumps of petunias and six clumps of snow-on-the-mountain to fill yard space once sheltered by trees. But the trees died from heat and drought, so my husband harvested them for fire mitigation and gave them to our neighbors to provide winter warmth. In the skinny soil over our bedrock, we planted flowers that he watered through the blistering summer.

Rabbits ate most of the flowers, or maybe it was deer or elk or even bears. We didn’t begrudge them since animals belong on this land. Anyway, we were left with only three groupings of each flower variety. Then the temperature dived and the rains used wind power to hit so hard that even stretches of deck sheltered by roofing were soaked. Our well pit became exposed and filled with four feet of muddy run-off that discouraged the old pump that pushed water to the house from cisterns. The pump died. We had no water in our faucets. But our final clump of petunias lives on.

Of course, I don’t think these petunias are natural in the Rocky Mountains. They’re immigrants we imported for their color. And if my husband hadn’t babied them all summer, none would have survived. But the final survivors should be given their due. I wish they were perennials instead of annuals, because they’ve earned their spot. They greet us each dawn as we walk our dogs. They remind us that everything isn’t lost when we mourn our fields of expired sunflowers.

Without an intention of being political, I think of the petunias when I hear Vice President Kamala Harris is participating in another town hall tonight so close to the election. I’ve seen many elections and many candidates, but I’ve never seen a candidate work so hard and take so many risks to present herself and her ideas. Soundly defeating her cowed opponent in a debate didn’t seem to be dynamic enough to seal her fate. When she agreed to an interview on Fox News, I was flabbergasted. Even if you dislike her intensely (and most people who dislike her target her gender, open-mindedness, or ancestry instead of qualifications), you have to admit she has guts to go into the so-called lion’s den where she can expect to be disrespected. She probably receives better treatment from political adversaries abroad.

I’m reminded of the lady who spearheads the local middle school Christmas program each year—juggling costumes, lighting, scenery, music, and lots of fidgety middle schoolers who are worse than reluctant to learn lines while pursuing their interpersonal dramas. As some adults thank the director, others complain this or that could’ve been better. Although she’s not unusual among school teachers nationally, the pageant lady’s among the more dedicated.

When I was a student, I remember being told over and over again that hard work pays off, as though it’s a simple cause and effect relationship: work hard and win. At this point in my life, I understand even very talented, well trained hard workers have to maneuver around prejudice, apathy, nepotism, and sheer bad luck. But they don’t ever have to say they didn’t try their best. And maybe, like the petunias, they eventually find a way to triumph at their own goals, exceeding expectations in their own minds and spreading art or joy or love that wasn’t there before. I guess perseverance is worthwhile, after all.